Harar Jugol, the Fortified Historic Town

Ringed by walls built up over the 13th to 16th centuries, Harar Jugol is often counted the fourth holiest city of Islam, and its 82 mosques and 102 shrines crowd a tight maze of lanes on an eastern Ethiopian plateau. Yet locals reserve their greatest pride for the townhouses, whose vivid, meticulously arranged interiors reveal a fusion of African and Islamic tradition unique to the city. UNESCO inscribed the fortified historic town as a World Heritage Site in 2006.