Waking up and taking another 5am bus to leave Addis Ababa is a struggle that seems to be part of any form of bus travel in Ethiopia. I still haven't figured out what their obsession is with 5 and 6 am bus travel, but it is something I will have to get use to.
The night before I ended up meeting some nice guys at a Turkish restaurant (still trying to get my fill of non-Injera food). They ended up being quite wealthy and insisted on buying me more beer and food than I could possible eat or drink. "You are our guest" was the rational. Not really a problem for me as I was becoming a bit paranoid of the costs associated with being in Addis Ababa.
After a very hot and very uncomfortable bus trip to Harar (about 10 hours) I diembarked in even hotter weather. I guess I am not in the mountains anymore. Though the elevation is suppose to be about the same... After the usual struggle to find a place to stay, I made my way into the old part of the city.
Harar is an unusual place because it is not only
Looks Like I am Staring It Downextremely old, it is also considered the fourth holy city of Islam. There are over 100 mosques in the area. Sometime in the 16th Century (I have heard), the local government built 4m thick walls around the city to defend it from the northern migration of the Oromo people. Today the Harari ethnic group is found almost solely in a small patch completely surrounded by another ethnic group (the Oromo decided to stay).
The Jugol (or Old Walled City) was declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 2006 and is really neat to meander through the small alleyways, packed with mosques, living quarters, markets and churches.
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