Harar

The fortified city

 Out line
• Introduction
• Harar traditional Architecture
• City character of Harar
• The walled city and the city Gates
• References
Location
 The fortified Town
Introduction
• probably founded by a colony from Hadramaut in south Arabia during the 9th c AD, by a
Semitic-speaking people

• It was an autonomous administration and capital of Harari kingdom

• It was a capital of Muslim rulers such as Ahmed Grange from 1520-1577

• It is the fourth of the sacred towns of Islam after Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem

• From the second half of the 16th century until the 19th century, Harar was noted as a
centre of trade and Islamic learning in the Horn of Africa

• Due to its fame, Harar attracted the interest of the Egyptians, who occupied it from
1875 to 1885
 The fortified Town
Introduction
• In 1887, Harar was conquered by Menelik II and lost its autonomy and incorporated
to the Great Ethiopian Empire.

• Harar has approximately 90 mosques, which forms the largest concentration of

mosques in the world.

• Recently Harar has celebrated its 1000th anniversary

• UNESCO declared it as a world heritage site in2006 and awarded the as a city of
peace (city of mystery and romance)

• It is endowed with a unique space called Jugol

 The wall (jugol)
• The surrounding city wall (Jugol) was originally built by Nur ibn al-Wazir Mujahid, a
nephew and successor of Ahmed Gragn, and is thus from the 16th century.

• The fortified town rests With

in 48 hectares

• The circumference of the wall

is 3348 meters

• The walls were built according

to the topography, enclosing
also water sources.
 The City Character
• The reported seat of Muslim
learning
• A walled city of stone
houses
• Its own coinage and its own
language
• Its permanent settlement
• Before the recent rise of
Addis Ababa and Nairobi,
Harar was the only city
worthy of the title.
The City traditional gates are :1. Shewa Gate 2. Buda Gate 3. Senga
Gate 4. Erer Gate 5. Fellana Gate
 The City Character

The City traditional gates are :1. Asadin bari area 2. Badro bari area 3. Suqutat bari area
4. Argoba bari area 5. Assum bari area
 Streets and Gates
• The street pattern in the fortified town is organic
• Each gate had different
purposes and demarcate
the administrative as well
as the socio-zones of the
old city

• The subsequent integration of Harar into the greater

Ethiopian realm led to the construction, in the twentieth
century, of two additional gates. (Duke bari and
Barbari bari)

• Building the straight street had the effect of favoring

the expansion of modern business to the west
Streets and Gates
 Mosque Architecture
Islamic architecture
•The making of any likeness of any creature
was forbidden ( no painting and sculpture )

•Islamic art seeks for fineness of line, for

color harmony, and above all design.
 Mosque Architecture

The Jami mosque dating back to the 17th century is the prominent one.
 Domestic Architecture
Approximately there are about 6000 cultural houses

Traditional Harari houses comprise a major part of the architectural

heritage
The residential fabric is made up of two principal architectural types
•The Harari type-the most relevant
•The Indian type-more sporadic and rare located
The mixed type- has as nucleus the Harari type with an extensions, that is
either horizontal or vertical but of Indian influence
 Harar traditional house

•Original housing typology
•Low in height and painted white
•Unique architecture, with thick stone
walls and small windows
•Harari homes look inward(service areas in the courtyard)
•Environmentally responsive
•Ornately carved wooden door leading to the main building
 Harar traditional house

•Only the door to ge gar (gidir gar) is subjected to •Stone masonary with mud mortar as building
decoration materials
•The ge gar(a large living room) doesn’t have any other •Juniper wood (wanza) for doors, frames and
opening except the door structures
Harar traditional house

•People sit on a series of platforms, up to

three levels, reclining against pillows

•Walls are covered in colorful plates and

baskets
•Decorate their rooms with the products of
their centuries-old crafts
 Harar Indian type house
•They are simple rectangular
buildings with two stories

•Most of these houses are

built on the highest point of
the town

•The first floor veranda of

the main facade overlooks
the street or the courtyard

At the end of the 19th century ( after 1887 ) Indian

merchants built new houses whose wooden
verandas defined a different urban landscape.
 Harar Indian type house
•They covered with a roof

•Higher than the average harari

house

•They are widely open to the

landscape

•The walls of the gidir gar and

the harar indian house have
niches.
Harar Indian type house
Harar Mixed type house
•A harari traditional house associated
with an Indian type

•A verandah open to a courtyard

•The first floor veranda of the main

façade overlooks the street or the
courtyard
Harar Mixed type house
 Arthur Rimbaud house

• famous French poet, Arthur Rimbaud, who lived in Harar 10 years b/n (1881-1891).
• Now it serves as a centre of documentation for exhibitions

• The most remarkable example of an Indian type

Arthur Rimbaud house
• It is a simple rectangular
two-stories building

• Built in the Indian style

with a wooden stricture
and curved elements
decorated with stained
glass window and doors.
Ras Mokennen house