- Join for free
- Sign In
DAO Says: Coffee was ‘invented’ here in Ethiopia and you can see how they produce it for export for free here in Harar. Nure is a coffee company you can stop in for a brief tour. It only takes minutes. They have their old equipment and modern day roasters inside. The staff will...
kokoryko Says: If you look at the scarf of the young girl of the first picture, you see the colours of the Ethiopian flag, but you know you are in Harar if you look at the baskets decorating the wall behind her! The colours, shapes, patterns of these baskets are typical Harari, and these...
kokoryko Says: Harar, fourth holy city of Islam has changed a lot since Ethiopian take over, in some way. . . . one can drink alcoholic beverages here, there are bars, and. . . there is even a beer brewed here! Ethiopian beers (Except the traditional tej), are lager type beers and, if not...
kokoryko Says: This very easy walk, for about two hours you can walk around the city on a newly paved street (thanks Unesco) lets you discover the gates, the renovated walls, which, if not very impressive, are a nice sight whilst strolling along and give an idea of how Harar was secluded...
kokoryko Says: This is probably one of the most beautiful houses of Harar, but Rimbaud did not live here, as this house has been built after his death! Here too, it is a house built by an Indian trader and thanks to many French sponsors, this house has been renovated recently and it hosts...
kokoryko Says: The house of Haile Selassie (The Ras Tafari, ruler of Tafari) is a strange building here in Africa, with these Indian woodcarvings above the main door (picture 1); this house belonged before to an Indian trader and now has become the Sherif Harar Museum, a municipal museum,...
Makina Gigir: the sewing machines street (2)
kokoryko Says: Once you forget a bit you are a foreigner here, and also get relaxed about the crowd pushing you from every sides (keep tightly your belongings, and your bags closed), you really feel plunged back in time when walking up this street, and you can enjoy the local atmosphere. ....
DAO Says: I found this restaurant just after it first opened. It looked like a snack bar. When the fantastic food arrived at my table, I found out just how wrong I was. When I entered I just wanted a fast food lunch. I was warnly wleocmed and a menu arrived. It was full of great...
HIRUT RESTAURANT: THE REAL DEAL IN HARAR
DAO Says: If you manage to visit the historical city of Harer, make sure you have at least one meal here. They are the real deal for a large meal that’s full of flavour and still won’t cost a lot. They specialise in Ethiopian dishes, but I like a lot of food. Especially if it’s good...
kokoryko Says: many guides still write about the famous train linking Djibouti to Addis Abeba; unfortunately, this train does not operate anymore, and even goods transportation stopped one year ago, on that line; in the past, the train stopped at Dire Dawa, and from there, you could go to...
flynboxes Says: You can get to harar via bus (11-12 hours) or by plane (1 hour) Dire Dawa and then a 1 hour minbus or cab ride up the hill. I chose to fly..plane was full of aid workers on their way further East..it was a full flight (At Addis the Dire Dawa flight departs from the...
Adare houses: Local handcrafts
flynboxes Says: You can go into some of the local Adare houses here since they sell local baskets made from natural dyes and other jewelry. I found the baskets here a bit nicer than what I saw in Addis at the Markato. Would have bought some stuff here but had already made my purchases in...
Nure Roasted Harar Coffee: Best coffee in Africa?
flynboxes Says: Not a big place and you can walk through it in a couple of minutes..longer if you stop to smell the coffee. While I do not drink the stuff myself. Friends say that it lacks the bitter taste that other coffees have and is amongst the smoothest they have tasted. Fresh roast...
kokoryko Says: As a tourist, a foreigner, you may sometimes feel “harassed” by the kids begging for some bir, a pen or whatever they see or think you can give them; don’t give, not because you have a dry heart, but it may create bad habits and the relationship with locals could be false,...
kokoryko Says: A very important East African crop is coffee, and if one can get addicted to coffee, the effects are way less harmful than the ones of khat.And many people consider coffee has its origins on the high plateaus of Ethiopia, and indeed, some of the best coffees in the world are...
Wood is a very important raw material
kokoryko Says: These donkeys look really exhausted! One must imagine they have carried their load of wood to the city from far in the countryside probably; look well, behind them you can see stacks of wood, they and their fellow creatures carried to the market.Otheres, in the shade of the...
DO NOT TAKE PICTURES OF OROMO MEN
DAO Says: You need to be very careful taking pictures even near these guys. The men of the Oromo tribe come into Harar to buy goods before returning to their villages. They are very easy to spot by their large bushy hair, blue clothes, weapons and not very happy looks. Yes – I said...
flynboxes Says: How could you visit Harar and not see this????? The hyenas are tame if not timid around humans....maybe because the get feed by them every night or they beat them when the tourists are not around..anyway There are two places to see this at night around 7pm. On spot is down...
TAKE A VIRTUAL TOURIST WITH YOU!
DAO Says: If you are going to travel across the world and visit interesting places like Harar you should take another member of VT along with you! The first photo shows my friend and wonder VA (Virtual Attendee) - Gail. Gail is known as Glo39 here on VT and was a Virtual Attendee at...
flynboxes Says: While Harar has its share of beggers it is nothing like Addis and other parts of Ethiopia. In fact it is somewhat recent in origin here. Bottom line..don't give money to them...the locals discourage it and even frown on it to a certain extent. All you are doing is teaching...
Plan a Harer vacation with reviews, tips and photos posted by real travelers and Harer locals
The women here have to wear some of the most colorful clothes I have seen in Ethiopia. If you ask them some will even let you take a pciture but please be kind...
Our members can help!
1
For many Harar is considered as the fourth holy city of Islam (for others, it is Kairouan in Tunisia. . . . ) and indeed, before its takeover by Menelik in 1887 and integration into Ethiopia, non...
2
I've got some interesting experiences in Harer. I'd love to share with you the 5 tips I've written, the 72 photos uploaded, and 6 travelogues I've created.
3
How could I pass this place up. Yes, I'm not very religious but I do tend to like Muslims...they tend to be good honest folks. It is a great place to wander around in with something like 360+...
4
I've got some interesting experiences in Harer. I'd love to share with you the 3 tips I've written, the 30 photos uploaded, and 3 travelogues I've created.
Build your own Harer page
