Eastern Ethiopia is a predominantly Muslim part of the country. Administratively, it contains the region of Somali, home to much of Ethiopia's ethnically Somali population and in which a borderline war between the Ethiopian government and the Ogaden guerrilla movement has been on-going; the independent cities of Dire Dawa and Harar; the eastern parts of Oromia; and the southern parts of Afar.

Historically, the region is comprised of Hararghe (named after the city of Harar) and the Ogaden.

Cities

• 1 Awash - gateway to Awash National Park
• 2 Dire Dawa - the 7th-largest city in the country
• 3 Harar - ancient walled city near Dire Dawa, and the 4th-holiest to Sunni Muslims
• 4 Jijiga - capital of the Somali region
• 5 Kersa

Other destinations

• 1 Awash National Park
• 2 Yangudi Rassa National Park
• 3 Kuni-Muktar Mountain Nyala Sanctuary — protects the critically endangered Mountain nyala, the country's biggest and rarest antelope,

Get in

Aba Tenna D. Yilma International Airport (DIR ^IATA) in Dire Dawa has international flights from Djibouti and domestic flights from Addis Ababa and Gode in the Somali Region.

Stay safe

The conflict in Somali is one of the most under-publicized humanitarian disasters in the modern day, and travellers should keep their distance from the Ogaden Desert.

Go next

• Somaliland
• Djibouti
• Central Ethiopia