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National Archives & Library of Ethiopia
Shelves groan under the weight of 20,000 books on Ethiopia. The English-language section is quite good. It is located off Sudan St.
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Ras Bir Lighthouse
About 6km east of the centre, this well-kept lighthouse is worth a gander. It’s completely isolated, and there’s an eerie atmosphere.
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Ashawa Market
The similarly stocked Ashawa Market is less orderly and more interesting than Dire Dawa Market, especially the sheet-metal shacks in the back.
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Lalibela World Cultural Centre
The new and still mostly empty Lalibela World Cultural Centre has permanent and sometimes temporary displays about Lalibela’s history, both past and present.
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Plage des Sables Blancs
Seven kilometres east of Tadjoura, Plage des Sables Blances is tranquillity incarnate and a lovely place to sun yourself, with a good string of white sand.
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Natural History Museum
Go eye to eye with a bloated leopard and other wildlife wonders of Ethiopia in this natural history museum. Sometimes the stuffers just don’t know when to stop stuffing!
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Bet Meskel
Carved into the courtyard’s northern wall at Bet Maryam is the tiny semi-chapel of Bet Meskel. Four pillars divide the gallery into two aisles spanned by arcades.
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Mekina Girgir
Leading southeast from Feres Magala, this narrow, atmospheric street is jam-packed with tailors’ workshops, which is how it came to be called ‘Sewing Machine Sound Street’.
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Angara Tekla Haimanot
If you’re a serious monastery lover, or just want to stretch your legs on the way to and from the palace, Angara Tekla Haimanots current church was built by Haile Selassie.
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Dire Dawa Market
Also known as ‘Taiwan’, this is a modern, orderly covered market mostly full of clothing and fabric, though some of the cheap electronic goods that used to dominate this space remain.
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Monument
On the Aksum side of town is a monument to the victims of and victors over the Derg. A museum has been constructed behind it but never opened, and some locals doubt that it ever will.
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Konso Cultural Centre
Though more a local resource centre than tourist attraction, there’s a pottery display (ask staff to unlock the rooms) and sometimes special exhibitions. It’s 500m before the roundabout.
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Tomb of Said Ali Hamdogn
Another tomb that can easily be visited is the Tomb of Said Ali Hamdogn, an important 12th-century religious leader. The tomb looks a little like a miniature mosque without the minaret.
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Plateau du Serpent & Îlot du Héron
These adjoining neighbourhoods north of the centre are residential areas where you’ll find many of the foreign embassies and residences, as well as lavish villas and Djibouti’s swankiest hotels.
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Game Drive
Perhaps better called the oryx and gazelle drive, because these are the only sure sightings. The 30km loop that starts at the main gate cuts across the Illala Sala Plains and passes Awash Falls.
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Cimetière Marin
The eerily quiet Cimetière Marin (Marine Cemetery), on the western outskirts of town, contains the graves of French soldiers who died from fever on their way to Indochina between 1885 and 1889.
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Emir Nur’s Tomb
Emir Nur’s Tomb resembles a spiky green beehive. It’s devoted to the ruler who built the city’s walls, and his wife is buried inside too. You enter the tomb normally, but when leaving, you should back out.
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Boye Dam
Located 5km east of town off the road to Addis, the dam has some good birdwatching opportunities, but take the locals’ claims of hippos with a hippo-sized pinch of salt. There are also caves and hot springs in the vicinity.
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St Mary Catholic Church
One of just two churches in Old Harar, St Mary Catholic Church is a haven of peace and a good spot if you need to unwind. It’s a French Catholic mission dating from 1889. The carved wooden door is particularly attractive.
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Institute of Ethiopian Studies
This institute boasts the world’s best collection of books in English on Ethiopia. It’s free for a half-day’s casual use. At the time of research they were in the slow process of building a new home for the collection.
Total
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