Sheikh Hussein

Sheikh Hussein is a town in southeastern Ethiopia. The famous shrine of the 13th century Muslim Sheikh Hussein, one of the holiest sites in Ethiopia, is here.

Sheikh Hussein
Location	Oromia, Bale, Ethiopia
Coordinates	7°45′N 40°42′E
Area	90 km2 (9,000 ha)
Height	1,386 m (4,547 ft)
Architectural style(s)	Traditional Ethiopian
Governing body	Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Authority for Resarch and Conservation of Cultural Heritage.
Location of Sheik Hussein in Ethiopia
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Criteria	Cultural: ii, iii, iv, vi
Reference	5649
Inscription	2011 (35th Session)

Sheikh Hussein is a tentative UNESCO World Heritage site since 2011 due to its religious, cultural, and historical significance.

In December 2007, SATCON Construction, an Ethiopian-owned company, completed a four-year project to build a 170-kilometer road connecting Sheikh Hussein to Micheta town in West Hararghe Zone. This road was opened on December 19, 2007.

The holy shrine

The town, Sheikh Hussein, got its name from a sacred place in Ethiopia. It is known for the tomb of Sheikh Hussein, a 13th-century Somali saint. He brought Islam to the Sidamo people in the area. Sheikh Hussein established the Sultanate of Bale. Pilgrims, around 50,000 Muslim Ethiopians, visit the town twice a year to honor his birth and death. They carry small sticks, "Oulle Sheikh Hussein," and crawl through a small doorway to enter the saint's tomb.

Attendant at Sheikh Hussein tomb in Ethiopia.

The religious complex dedicated to Sheikh Hussein includes the town and the nearby valley of Kachamsare. In the 18th century, Emir Abd al-Shakur ibn Yusuf of Harar built a shrine to the Baghdadi saint Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani near Sheikh Hussein's tomb. The complex has landmarks like the Dinkiro pond, associated with a miraculous spring, and two wild fig trees called kiltu. There are also caves and rock formations with unique names, such as the "cave of serpents," "cave of herbs," and "cave of honey".