Dire Dawa (Amharic: ድሬ ዳዋ, Oromo: Dire Dhawaa, lit. “Place of Remedy”Somali: Diri Dhaba, meaning “where Dir hit his spear into the ground” or “The true Dir”, Arabic: ديري داوا is one of two chartered cities (astedader akabibi) in Ethiopia (the other being the capital, Addis Ababa). It is divided administratively into two woredas, the city proper and the non-urban woreda of Gurgura.
Dire Dawa lies in the eastern part of the nation, on the Dechatu River, at the foot of a ring of cliffs that has been described as “somewhat like a cluster of tea-leaves in the bottom of a slop-basin.” The western outskirts of the city lie on the Gorro River, a tributary of the Dechatu River. At a latitude and longitude of 9°36′N 41°52′ECoordinates: 9°36′N 41°52′E, Dire Dawa is the second-largest city in Ethiopia.
The city is an industrial centre, home to several markets and the Diredhawa Airport.