The old walled city of Harar used to be strictly off limits for non-Muslims. It was one of the most holy cities in the country and remains the fourth holiest city in Islam. Today Jugol — the fortified historic town — is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, its roughly 4-kilometre perimeter wall enclosing 82 mosques, over 100 shrines, and one of the most intact medieval urban fabrics in Africa.
In the west, Harar is also famous for the fact that the French poet Arthur Rimbaud lived here for a while. His house, now a museum, is still one of the most striking sights of the old city. Other highlights include the Jamia Mosque, the Shrine of Sheikh Abadir — the saint credited with founding Harar as an Islamic city — and the Tomb of Emir Nur, the 16th-century ruler who built the walls.
Every evening at nightfall, Harar's most famous spectacle plays out just outside the walls: the hyena feeding, where hereditary feeders coax wild spotted hyenas in from the hills. The tradition is said to be 400 years old. The Shoa Gate market is the other essential experience — a crossroads market where Oromo, Somali, and Harari traders converge each morning.
Harar is reached most easily via Dire Dawa, which has regular flights from Addis Ababa. The city is also the commercial heart of Ethiopia's khat trade, and the bundles of fresh leaves loaded onto trucks each morning are as much a part of the landscape as the minarets.