Shoa Gate Market

Harar


Elbow your way through the Shoa Gate Market (also known as the Christian Market) to find etan (incense) from the Jijiga area; it’s used in the famous coffee ceremonies. This odoriferous market also has spices and bark, roots and twigs used in the preparation of traditional medicine plus heaps of vegetables.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Harar attractions

1. Recycling Market

0.12 MILES

Near the Shoa Gate Market is the Recycling Market where men repair metal materials and beat scrap into useful utensils. The whole area is undergoing a…

2. Smugglers’ Market

0.19 MILES

The Smugglers’ Market is chock-full of counterfeit clothing and electronics (some real stuff, too) from China. Most of it is smuggled in from Somaliland…

3. Old Town

0.26 MILES

Harar’s old walled town (known as Jugal) is a fascinating place that begs exploration. The thick, 5m-high walls running 3.5km around town were erected in…

4. Feres Magala

0.31 MILES

The main square is a bustling place with several minor points of interest. Most conspicuous is the monument to those who died fighting against Menelik’s…

5. Medhane Alem Cathedral

0.33 MILES

On the east side of Feres Megala is this rather unimpressive cathedral, built by Ras Makonnen in 1890 on the site of an Egyptian mosque.

6. Mekina Girgir

0.34 MILES

Leading southeast from Feres Magala, this narrow, atmospheric street is jam-packed with tailors’ workshops, which is how it came to be called ‘Sewing…

7. Selassie Church

0.35 MILES

This church doesn't really deserve a gander, but it's a useful landmark off the main thoroughfare.

8. Tomb of Said Ali Hamdogn

0.35 MILES

Said Ali Hamdogn was an important 12th-century religious leader. His whitewashed tomb can easily be visited; it looks a little like a miniature mosque…