{"id":94726,"date":"2026-04-25T02:52:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T23:52:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gulf-tourism.net\/?p=94726"},"modified":"2026-04-25T02:52:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T23:52:25","slug":"harar-ethiopia-a-historical-legacy-and-islamic-character","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gulf-tourism.net\/?p=94726","title":{"rendered":"Harar, Ethiopia: A historical legacy and Islamic character"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span dir=\"auto\">I visited the Ethiopian city of Harar, where I spent a pleasant time with media colleagues and a team from tourism and travel companies in Saudi Arabia. I have always dreamed of visiting\u00a0<\/span><em><span dir=\"auto\">Ethiopia<\/span><\/em><span dir=\"auto\">\u00a0and strolling around\u00a0<\/span><em><span dir=\"auto\">its lakes<\/span><\/em><span dir=\"auto\">\u00a0and gardens. It is located\u00a0 in\u00a0<\/span><em><span dir=\"auto\">East Africa,<\/span><\/em><span dir=\"auto\">\u00a0known as the Horn of Africa region, and tourists come to it from all over the world, traveling long distances to enjoy the green nature.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-94724\" src=\"https:\/\/gulf-tourism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Town_of_Harar_with_Citywall-1-400x235.jpg\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gulf-tourism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Town_of_Harar_with_Citywall-1-400x235.jpg 400w, https:\/\/gulf-tourism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Town_of_Harar_with_Citywall-1.jpg 499w\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"235\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span dir=\"auto\">The Ethiopian city of Harar, nicknamed the \u201cCity of Five Gates,\u201d has been transformed by its historical heritage into a \u201cliving laboratory\u201d for the cross-fertilization of civilizations, and the month of Ramadan there becomes a unique sensory experience that blends the authenticity of the Horn of Africa with the spirituality of the Islamic East.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-94716\" src=\"https:\/\/gulf-tourism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG-20260425-WA0000-400x229.jpg\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gulf-tourism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG-20260425-WA0000-400x229.jpg 400w, https:\/\/gulf-tourism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG-20260425-WA0000.jpg 768w\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"229\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span dir=\"auto\">The old city is surrounded by the walls of Jaghoul, which were built by Prince Noor bin Mujahid in the sixteenth century to be a shield to protect this Islamic jewel and a center of scientific influence in the Horn of Africa.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.al-ain.com\/lg\/images\/2019\/2\/28\/133-050634-harar-ethiopia-love-peace-3.jpeg\" alt=\"In pictures: Harar, a city of coexistence and love in Ethiopia\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span dir=\"auto\">Harar is the historical center of Islamic life in Ethiopia, and one of the most exemplary centers where Muslims and Christians alike live in an atmosphere of mutual respect.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span dir=\"auto\">Mr. Arif, an official at the tourism office in the Harar region, explained: \u201cEach of the city\u2019s five gates has stories and meanings; from Shuwa to Budawa, and from Sobri and Erir to Arubare, these entrances open their arms to caravans and communicators, in a unique geographical and historical symbolism that connects the city to the outside world.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/myktrip.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Ethiopia-tours-Harar-City-markets.jpg\" alt=\"Ethiopia, Harar Life Museum, and Rift Valley Tour - My K-Trip\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span dir=\"auto\">The city&#8217;s alleys, which are not without some mazes, were designed to be narrow and winding with innate intelligence; they break the intensity of the mountain winds and act as a defense system that makes the stranger get lost in their charm, while the city&#8217;s son leads his heart towards the center where the paths meet amidst a building that has no corner or bend. In the city&#8217;s narrow streets you find goats, old men exhausted from chewing khat, and a boy who exchanges kicking a ball with me for several minutes.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-94717\" src=\"https:\/\/gulf-tourism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG-20260425-WA0003-1536x1023-1-400x267.jpg\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gulf-tourism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG-20260425-WA0003-1536x1023-1-400x267.jpg 400w, https:\/\/gulf-tourism.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG-20260425-WA0003-1536x1023-1.jpg 768w\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"267\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span dir=\"auto\">Harar is one of the oldest Islamic cities in East Africa, having been founded more than a thousand years ago. It represents a unique model that combines modernity and Islamic traditions. It was built in the traditional Islamic style inspired by ancient Islamic cities, and includes modern Harar and old Harar, known as the city of Jaghul.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.independentarabia.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/1368x911\/public\/article\/mainimage\/2023\/08\/20\/822816-1770475752.jpg\" alt=\"Harar, Ethiopia: African beauty with an Arab flavor | Independent Arabia\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span dir=\"auto\">The city is surrounded by a massive wall built in the fifteenth century during the reign of Prince Nur bin Mujahid with the participation of Quran reciters, and used<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I visited the Ethiopian city of Harar, where I spent a pleasant time with media colleagues and a team from tourism and travel companies in Saudi Arabia. I have always dreamed of visiting\u00a0Ethiopia\u00a0and strolling around\u00a0its lakes\u00a0and gardens. It is located\u00a0 in\u00a0East Africa,\u00a0known as the Horn of Africa region, and tourists come to it from all &hellip; <\/p>\n<p><a class=\"more-link block-button\" href=\"https:\/\/gulf-tourism.net\/?p=94726\">\u0625\u0642\u0631\u0623 \u0627\u0644\u0645\u0632\u064a\u062f &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":94727,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gulf-tourism.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94726"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gulf-tourism.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gulf-tourism.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gulf-tourism.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gulf-tourism.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=94726"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gulf-tourism.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94726\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":94728,"href":"https:\/\/gulf-tourism.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94726\/revisions\/94728"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gulf-tourism.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/94727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gulf-tourism.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=94726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gulf-tourism.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=94726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gulf-tourism.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=94726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}