Harar Jugol, Ethiopia

Harar, Ethiopia
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Harar_balconies.jpg
Author: Ahron de Leeuw


Harar Jugol is an ancient fortified town in Ethiopia. The town is located on the eastern part of Ethiopia, surrounded by deserts and the savannah.

Harar Jugol is regarded as the fourth holiest city of Islam. It has 82 mosques, of which three dates back to the 10th century. There are also 102 Muslim shrines, but the most spectacular feature of Harar Jugol are its townhouses. The fusion of African and Islamic influences in the architecture of Harar results in a unique style. The town was a major trading post during ancient times, being on the crossroad of trading routes from the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Today Harar Jugol is a well preserved Ethiopian city with a distinct cityscape.

Harar Jugol was inscribed as a World Heritage Site during the 30th session of the World Heritage Committee which took place in Vilnius, Lithuania, on 9 - 16 July, 2006.

Gate of harar, Ethiopia
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:At_the_Gates_of_Harar_(2144297311).jpg
Author: A. Davey

World Heritage Site Inscription Details

Location: N 9 18 32 E 42 8 16
Inscription Year: 2006
Type of Site: Cultural
Inscription Criteria: II, III, IV, V

Visiting Harar Jugol

You can reach Harar from Addis Ababa by bus. You can also fly to Dire Dawa airport and get there by bus or minibus. Within the town itself, you can explore on foot, or take the minibuses.

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

About this website

Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.