Located at 800 m of altitude, Arta is the climatic station of Djibouti. It is always cooler than on the coast. The site is very appreciated. The altitude also allows to enjoy a superb panorama on the Gulf of Tadjourah and the Goda Mountains. The sunset is not to be missed. The beach of Arta is free of access and one can find there some boats to negotiate a dive towards the whale sharks. Arta is also a seismic station. In the seismic observatory, managed by the CERD (Centre d'études et de recherches de Djibouti) and the Institut de physique du globe de Paris, the ground movements of the region are studied, analyzed and classified. You can ask to visit the centre (make sure you do so in advance) to better understand the exciting game of plate tectonics that is taking place on Djibouti's territory. You will discover that you are walking on a ground in almost perpetual movement (from 15 to 2,000 shocks per day). N1, "THE" road of Djibouti. The fully paved national road, which connects Djibouti-City to Galafi (Ethiopian border) and then Addis Ababa, has become an essential part of the Djiboutian and Ethiopian economies. Since Eritrea's independence, Djibouti has become THE port for Ethiopia. Most of the traffic of goods imported by Ethiopia passes through this route. This strategic axis is the only one in the country where you will be obliged to overtake vehicles (elsewhere you will be almost alone), very long (and very slow) vehicles. Ethiopian trucks often drive empty in the Addis Ababa-Djibouti direction. A single trailer carries the others. Light, they descend towards the sea, at full speed. In the other direction, the road climbs (difference in altitude from 0 to 2,300 m) and the vehicles cough. The lorries "stretch out" and sometimes have two or three trailers. They are filled to the brim with all sorts of goods: mechanical equipment, piles of sacks of cereals stamped USA or European Union, etc. These ancient Italian "Calabrese" are struggling and spitting out large clouds of black smoke as soon as they reach the first coastline on the way out of Djibouti. They are driven by two drivers who take it in turns to reach Addis Ababa, the self-proclaimed "capital of Africa", if possible without interruption. We leave the capital fairly quickly (via Doralé), although the suburbs and the new cities are eating up more and more of the surrounding desert. The landscape changes quickly. Red earth and black earth follow one another. The low shrubs hide some goats, dig-digs and some plastic bags too. The high voltage line (which brings electricity from Ethiopia) runs along the road. The relief is then more marked. Good smells of bush plants almost intoxicate the drivers, provided that the wind pushes the exhaust fumes a bit further..

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Jeunes femmes de l'école d'hôtellerie d'Arta. Eyerusalem ABERA
Famille de singes sur la route d'Arta. Eyerusalem ABERA
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