In May 2019 The National published a travel feature arguing that UNESCO-listed Harar, in eastern Ethiopia, can make a visitor feel lost in both geography and time.
The piece described the ancient walled city, its alleys, shrines, and markets as a living archive of Islamic scholarship and Horn trade routes rather than a postcard stop.
Culture writing about Harar matters because the city sits at the edge of Oromo, Somali, and highland Ethiopian histories, and tourism pitches often flatten that layered past.
Kept as culture and travel archive, the Harar feature is a dated reference for how foreign media sold eastern Ethiopia’s heritage before later security shocks remade tourist maps.
Sources: The National