* * * * *
I Now Proceed To A Description Of Unknown Harar.
The ancient capital of Hadiyah, called by the citizens "Harar Gay," [5] by
the Somal "Adari," by the Gallas
"Adaray" and by the Arabs and ourselves
"Harar," [6] lies, according to my dead reckoning, 220° S.W. of, and 175
statute miles from, Zayla--257° W. of, and 219 miles distant from,
Berberah. This would place it in 9° 20' N. lat. and 42° 17' E. long. The
thermometer showed an altitude of about 5,500 feet above the level of the
sea. [7] Its site is the slope of an hill which falls gently from west to
east. On the eastern side are cultivated fields; westwards a terraced
ridge is laid out in orchards; northwards is a detached eminence covered
with tombs; and to the south, the city declines into a low valley bisected
by a mountain burn. This irregular position is well sheltered from high
winds, especially on the northern side, by the range of which Kondura is
the lofty apex; hence, as the Persian poet sings of a heaven-favoured
city,--
"Its heat is not hot, nor its cold, cold."
During my short residence the air reminded me of Tuscany. On the afternoon
of the 11th January there was thunder accompanied by rain: frequent
showers fell on the 12th, and the morning of the 13th was clear; but, as
we crossed the mountains, black clouds obscured the heavens. The monsoon
is heavy during one summer month; before it begins the crops are planted,
and they are reaped in December and January.
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