Ethiopia’s historic walled city of Harar was named the top place to visit in National Geographic Traveler magazine’s annual list of 21 must-see destinations to visit in 2018.

Traveler editors selected their top picks for places in three key categories: Cities, Culture, and Nature.

The “most surprising city in East Africa”, Harar was selected for its cultural aspect. The “City of Saints” boasts 82 mosques, as well as Ethiopia’s best beer and highest quality coffee.

FUN FACT: Hyenas are welcome night visitors in Harar, where they eat food waste and are fed by ‘hyena men.’

Best Trips 2018 is featured in the December/January 2018 issue of Traveler magazine, now available on newsstands and online at NatGeoTravel.com/BestTrips2018.

Background:

Muslims regard Harar as the world’s fourth-holiest city after Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem. Harar is also Ethiopia’s most important repository of Islamic landmarks, with 82 mosques and 438 Awaach (shrines of important Islamic scholars) crammed into its 48 hectares. The city’s lively markets and unique gey gar (city houses) are relicts of the many centuries when Harar served as the most important trade emporium in the Horn of Africa, linking the ports of the Somali coast to the fertile Ethiopian interior. Harar Jugol was inscribed as a UNESCO, World Heritage Site in 2006.

For travel inspiration, visit the Ethiopian Tourism Organisation website at www.ethiopia.travel