Perhaps the best way to see and enjoy some of the breathtaking attractive landscapes is taking the non-express passenger train that leaves every day to dirrir dhaba ,is a Somali name which simply means "a place of fighting".
As it moves slowly through zigzagging valleys and flatlands, your eyes would catch herds of camels and cattle grazing along the sides of the railways. This is an area where the traditional culture of Somali nomads still remains intact. As the century old passenger-train approaches into the Aware Afdam, a town that lies approximately between Addis Abeba and Dire Dawa for one hour stop, it is welcomed by an army of nomadic children waving their hands to the incoming travellers.
The town has all characters that make Somalis different culturally from other Ethiopian ethnic groups. The charming young Somali girls selling fresh camel milk in leather containers on both sides of the railway and Somali nomads men displaying traditional handcrafts gives more colourful attraction to the relatively small market of this rural town. Men with pair of white togas and young men in their traditional dresses are frantically busy beckoning at travellers´ beck and call to sell locally made handcrafts and other souvenirs at a hand down price.
Traditional Somali dagger is clearly visible on the hips of every grown up Somali man who reached at the age of manhood. The traditional dagger mounted on the hip is known as "Golxob".But travellers should never try to tamper with Somali daggers. All shops are straddled on both sides of the railway where, everything that reflects Somali culture, from handcrafts to leather praying mats are displayed. The salivating goat meat assails one´s nostrils before he finds himself sitting in one of those small Somali restaurants.
Perhaps our sightseeing trip would be incomplete without visiting the ancient historical city of Harar.Without Harar´s rich agricultural hinterland in which almost variety of fruits, vegetables, coffee and other grains are grown both for local consumption and export, Harar province is also the bread basket of the Ogaden.
The journey to Harar from Dire Dawa is also perhaps the most fascinating one. Here, all kinds of public transport facilities´ are available, much depending on your own pocket - from luxurious taxis to heavy trucks. After all, Harar is not far away from Dire Dawa.It is only less than a two hour drive by bus. There is a around clock bus service between the two cities that stops at every way-station where passengers, either get off, or buy local products from vendors.
Maintained macadamized highway from Dire Dawa to Harar, provides a delightful journey with numerous panoramic views. As the carefully driven bus ascends on the sneaking Dangago pass, one´s eyes catches the beautiful evergreen mountains decorated with systematically planned terraces on which coffee and khat plants are grown. It reminds me that equally famous of Sheikh-Pass in Somaliland Republic.
and the green mountains place looks nice is it harar?
