Abala

Abala lies near the meeting of the Ethiopian highlands and the dry Afar country. It belongs to a landscape crossed by salt caravans traveling between the Danakil depression and the highland markets. Afar and Tigrayan caravaners share this trade, moving salt during seasons when farming or pastoral movements allow. As Francisco Álvares observed in the sixteenth century, salt obtained cheaply in Afar country gained value when carried into the highlands.