Harar

With only a week left in Ethiopia and access to fast internet, I have a bit of a backlog of entries to pump out. Get ready! Recently, with five friends, I went to a town called Harar. Look it up, it is awesome. It was probably my favorite place in Ethiopia. It represented all my favorite parts about this culture without the negative things.

Basically, "for centuries, Harar has been a major commercial center, linked by the trade routes with the rest of Ethiopia, the entire Horn of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and, through its ports, the outside world. Harar Jugol, the old walled city, was included in the World Heritage List in 2006 by UNESCO in recognition of its cultural heritage. According to UNESCO, it is 'considered the fourth holy city of Islam' with 82 mosques, three of which date from the 10th century and 102 shrines".

A view of part of the city.

The guest house we stayed at for part of our trip

Hawks diving in for some meat. They could also catch some from midair.

We went to an Ethiopian Premiership football game. Team Harar vs. Team Bunna.

One of the many markets.

Jebena market

Street food!!

One of the biggest draws about Harar is you can feed hyenas... if you're a crazy person. 

We visited some rural towns in the area. The kids were pretty cute!

Camel market

Lisa with a camel (both of whom are smiling)

After we saw the camels, we ate come camel. When in Harar!