Understand
Dire Dawa which means âempty plainâ is one of two chartered cities in eastern Ethiopia the other being the capital, Addis Ababa. Dire Dawa was founded in 1902 after the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway reached the area. The railroad could not reach the city of Harar at its higher elevation, so Dire Dawa was built nearby. It is a major hub for many ethnic groups in Ethiopia, especially the Afar, Oromo, and Somali.
The city is an industrial centre on the Dechatu River, and home to several markets. It lies at the foot of a ring of cliffs that has been described as "somewhat like a cluster of tea-leaves in the bottom of a slop-basin".
