Dire Dawa

Dire Dawa is one of two chartered cities (astedader akabibi) in Ethiopia (the other being the capital, Addis Ababa). It lies in the east of the nation, on the Dechatu River, 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." According to the 1994 census, Dire Dawa has a population of 164,851 making the city the second largest in the country.

Dire Dawa was founded in 1902 after the Addis Ababa-Djibouti City railroad reached the area. The railroad could not reach the city of Harar at its higher elevation, so Dire Dawa was built nearby.

The city is an industrial centre, home to several markets and an international airport.