Experiencing the Ethiopia of Arthur Rimbaud

Africa — By Bob Riel on February 19, 2010 at 7:20 am

Arthur Rimbaud was a 19th century French poet who famously gave up writing while still a young man and lived most of the final 10 years of his life in Harar, Ethiopia. That makes the town somewhat of an interesting landmark, but Harar is also reputed to be one of the more colorful places in a fascinating country, with bits of both Africa and Arabia and with influences from both the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea. There is a nice portrait of Harar on the website GlobalPost.

Harar must have blown Rimbaud’s senses away. It still bewitches travelers with a riot of color, scents and unique lifestyles, where Islam meets Christianity, Arabia and Asia join Africa, and trade between regions and cultures flourished over 1,000 years of uninterrupted urban life…

Trade and religion shape Harar’s life. Ethiopian Muslims consider it the fourth most sacred Islamic city, with 80 mosques and 200 holy graves of saints.

It was closed to non-Muslims until, in 1855, the British explorer Richard Burton, a fluent Arabic speaker, donned Arab dress and snuck into the city for 10 days. He left a lively account of his trip.

Check out the full story. Or, for another view of Harar, you can also pick up Paul Theroux’s book, Dark Star Safari. Theroux stopped in Harar and other places in Ethiopia during an overland journey across Africa, which he recounts in this excellent travel narrative.