Harar

City in eastern Ethiopia, and centre of Harar province ; population (1992) 116,000. It is connected by road to Dire Dawa (50 km/31 mi northwest) and by rail to Djibouti. The town lies on the slopes of a hill over 1,520 m/4,987 ft above sea level. Local trade includes coffee, ghee (clarified butter), gums, wax, hides, and skins.

The town was seriously damaged by aerial bombardment in the Italian–Ethiopian War of 1935. Its capture by the British forces in the Italian East African campaign, in March 1941, marked the beginning of the ultimate collapse of the whole of Mussolini's African colonial empire.

Harar

Province in eastern Ethiopia; area 259,700 sq km/100,270 sq mi; population (2001 est 161,200). It consists of a mountainous core (up to 3,000 m/9,842 ft) sloping towards arid desert regions in the north and south. Coffee is the main crop, grown in small irrigated plots at about 1,500 m/4,921 ft. Citrus fruits are also grown in areas with access to irrigation. Nomadic people live in the north and south of the province. The major towns are Harar and Dire Dawa.