Djibouti...reliving childhood games

At a bar in Addis with hotel owner (right)

I won’t be surprised if most people who read this blog haven’t heard of Djibouti let along know that this is actually a name of a country. Almost anyone whom I have mentioned this to has asked me what it was.

Ambouli International Airport in Djibouti city

Anyway, recently I had a few days off from work as it was my last home leave for the year and I went to India to meet my folks but on the way I decided to spend a few days in Djibouti. It’s a small small country on the shoes of the Gulf of Aden in the Red Sea which lies to the north east of Ethiopia, south of Eritrea and west of Somalia (or the internationally unrecognized state of the Republic of Somaliland).

Mosque at the edge of the central market

So what’s my fascination with this country? Well, back when I was growing up as a kid which is not ancient past, we had no computers and televisions so our pass time was playing games. One of the indoor games that I distinctly remember playing was taking turns of selecting a country or capital on the world map and quizzing your partner on it’s location.

Street connecting the European &African Quarters

I am not sure of my age by I must have been between 8-11 years when the word Djibouti first came into existence for me one day playing this game with my good friend Rohit. The fascinating part of it was that it was the first country that I had known which was so small that it’s capital was also called by the same name. It was also interesting that the name sounded a little funny not knowing whether to pronounce the “D” or not.

Chewing chat (a local addiction)

When making the travel plans it helped to know that the country was not far from Ethiopia from where I was going to take my connecting flight to Mumbai plus the country was small so I figured that I could cover most of it in a few days.



A little research on Lonely Planet and Wikitravel and I had figured out what I wanted to see; a couple of bizarre lakes and then swim with whale sharks for which the country offered the best chance in the world.


Hamadryas baboons on the way to Arta



I got in to Addis Ababa (the capital of Ethiopia) late at night but had my connecting flight to Djibouti the next morning so I had already made reservation at a hotel in Addis. At the airport, I was surprised to be picked up by the owner of the hotel himself and then when I told him that I wanted to check out the city in whatever little time I had he immediately ringed his daughter who was at a local bar so we could join in.


So here I was...my first night in Addis and my luggage still in the car and me chilling out at a local up market bar with the owner and his daughter. I guess that’s the Ethiopian hospitality.

Gulf of Tadjoura in the background

Catching the fight to Djibouti the next morning, I got in around noon and was welcomed to this dry and arid country by a heavy downpour upon landing. Fortunately for me the Republic of Djibouti issues a visa on arrival to Indian citizens albeit at an expensive $60 for a single entry. While the immigration officer was quizzing me at the visa counter he seemed a litle uncertain of giving me the visa until I convinced him by saying that I was not there to work but on vacation. As soon as he heard the golden words of vacation and holidays, he stamped my passport assured in the fact that I am not a prospective migrant worker. I get a feeling that there are not of lot of Indian backpackers to have landed on the shores of Djibouti so I can understand his suspicion.

A Djiboutian camel herder with camel milk

I rode a shared taxi from the airport to the city with a jovial French military guy who was taking a boat to Yemen the next day before sailing to Seychelles in the Indian Ocean to conduct some military exercise. I decided it was best I don’t engage in further details.

Camel farm

The country is located in a strategic geo-political location not far from Somalia and Yemen and hence has a huge French military base and now an equally big and growing American base. There are also a lot of navy ships from most European countries and Japan that are anchored at the Djibouti port from where they conduct their military activities to protect cargo ships from the Somali pirates who patrol the seas a little east from the port of Djibouti in the Gulf of Aden.

Busy market street in Djibouti city

I arrived on a Friday and since the country is predominantly Muslim, it was a day of holiday. The city seems to be dominated by its 3 main features, the European and African quarters and the Port. While the European quarters features buildings with French colonial architecture, military men and their families, souvenir shops and lots and lots of bars and clubs, the African quarters is the place to experience the hustle and bustle of the Djiboutian life with its open air markets, general stores, roadside eateries, busy traffic, mosques and the locals going about their daily lives.


Sunset at Djibouti port

 The port is an important part of Djibouti since it’s the major revenue earner. The ports main revenue comes from the military presence and more importantly from cargo that is handled to and from land locked Ethiopia.


Most of my first day was spent exploring the city and the neighboring town of Arta which is slightly cooler due to its altitude and constant breeze and hence it’s a popular choice for summer homes for diplomats and military personnel. On the way to Arta we encounters Hamadryas baboons, camel herders from whom we bought some camel milk (tastes very much like regular milk to me), camel farms and panoramic views of the gulf of Tadjoura.