78 Harar

We would have a full day tour of the old town the day after I arrived, but a took a quick peak inside as there was spare time on the first day. I was so totally impressed by what I found. Wonderful small alley ways heading off in different directions. It’s also on a sloping hillside, so there are stairs slowly leading downwards. Lots of children out playing football in the narrow streets. I was blown away with one group; I gave stickers to them all, then one-by-one they all came up and gave me a kiss on the cheek. Then an older boy called Anis took me under his wing and proudly took me to his house where I met his grandmother. She spoke some Arabic, so I was able to make polite conversation with her.
The following day the real tour began with Ben, our knowelgable tour guide. He took us through the narrow streets visiting various locations along the way. With 82 mosques, there was a lot to see, not that we went inside ay, but passed many along the streets. They always stood out with the use of green paint, the colour of Islam. On the walls of the buildings we passed by, there were often paintings or small pictures in relief which all told the story of of Harar; from the hyenas feeding, to camels bringing trade, there was plenty to see.
We visited one large house; a beautiful building constructed of wood, with a pet tortoise on the steps, that was now a museum. The curator excitedly showed us around, from the collection of weapons to the hand written Korans. This was a pretty impressive collection. Then on the house of Arthur Rimbaud. For me this was fascinating, as I actually knew about the guy. He had been a French poet in the 1800s and had turned the poetry world upside down with is totally new style. He also had a reputation for being quite anarchic, and the reason I knew this was because I’d seen an obscure movie about him starring Leonardo Decaprio. So, to be in the very town that he had lived; very exciting!
Heading down one street which was full of men on sewing machines, we arrived at the centre of the old town, where there was a small market. It was here that we stopped for coffee, provided by a woman who was making the coffee from scratch, including the washing, and roasting of the beans. The small square was also full of butchers, and as they do in this part of the world, butchers means cooked meat available, so we made a plan to return for a delicious meat feast.
We visited the Church of Mary, just as the bells were being run. Quite an unusual sound in a walled town predominantly full of Moslem mosques, where call to prayer is heard five times a day.
To sum up our day, it was full of interesting buildings, friendly people, exciting narrow streets, and the smells and sounds of an Arab souk.
The friendliest was emphasised later in the afternoon, when Monica and I had headed off for a last look around and suddenly it started to pour with rain. Sheltering as best we could, we were ushered into a nearby home where the owner kindly made room for us to sit down, even sharing is chat (the leaves that they chew) with Monica, and dashing out in the rain to buy more. Fortunately the rain cleared enough for us to get back to the hotel.
The final activity of the day was to see the hyenas being fed. This has become a tradition, every night. Just outside the city walls at a certain location, the hyenas arrive expecting their food. The odd tourist, lucky enough to come this way, can partake in the tradition, by feeding the hyenas as well. Truly, a remarkable thing to do. Up close, they are so big. There is this wild animal taking food off a stick just cm away from your face. Mindblowing!
#oasisoverland #Ethiopia #Harar