Dire Dawa, Ethiopia: Part 1 of 3

The third country I visited during my journey to Africa is Ethiopia. Dire Dawa, a city located in Eastern Ethiopia is the birthplace of my father and his siblings. In order to travel to Ethiopia by car, I had to apply for a Laisse-passez; a bureaucratic and complex process I had not anticipated. After much effort by my family, I received the necessary documents and joined my cousins on this memorable road trip.

After two hours on the road, we arrived at the border crossing between Djibouti and Ethiopia; a city called Dawanle.

The jail at the border crossing.

The 'officer' chewing khat on the job.

A family friend, 'Lapin', (a nickname that means bunny in English), gathering some khat as a bribe for the officer.

After what seemed like an eternity on the road, we finally arrived in Dire Dawa.

A nightclub right around the corner from my Uncle's home.