This past November, for two consecutive weekends, I flew northeast of Addis. The first weekend was to Harrar, an ancient, walled Muslim city known for its coffee and chat. The second weekend was to Djibouti, the world's hottest and funniest named country.
Below are some photos from these weekends.
I. Harrar
The inside of Harrar's walled city can be claustrophobic and difficult to capture. Most of the point of visiting is to soak in the atmosphere rather than any specific sites. We started our guided visit (there's no other easy way to find your way around) in a bustling marketplace:
The French poet Rimbaud spent a decade as a trader in Harrer, after he hung up his poetry gloves. He probably didn't live in this house, but it is nonetheless presented as "Rimbaud's house":
It was a hot day, perfect for a nice cold Coke:
Or for feeding birds of prey by throwing morsels of raw meat into the air:
