Holhol

The old railroad bridge in Holhol.

The Holhol area has been inhabited since ancient times with nomadics sometimes stopping here for water on the way to the town of Zeila and Harar across the Horn of Africa. and after the signing treaties in 1894 with the then ruling Ugaas of Issa Somali, to established a protectorate in the region referred to as French Somaliland. The railway reached this location on 14 July 1899. Holhol became an administrative and commercial centre in the 1900s after the construction of the Ethio-Djibouti Railway between Djibouti City and Addis Ababa, undermined the traditional camel caravan economy of Holhol. It was first railway in French Somaliland.

Holhol is served by a station on the meter gauge Ethio-Djibouti Railway. A notable feature of the meter-gauge railway is a viaduct, 29 meters high and 45 meters long, that was built in 1900. The station is a transit point for commercial goods from Ethiopia. Holhol also has a station on the new standard gauge Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway.

The town also lies along RN-5 National Highway. It is the seventh largest city in the country.

Additionally, Holhol has a number of primary and secondary schools as well as nurseries. The El-Hajj Hassan Gouled Military Academy is located here. One kilometer from the town is the local college. Nearby towns and villages include Ali Sabieh (33 km), Goubetto (18 km), Ali Adde (23 km), Dasbiyo (19 km) and Chabelley (28 km).

As of 2017, the population of Holhol has been estimated to be roughly around 3,000. The city inhabitants belong to various mainly Afro-Asiatic-speaking ethnic groups, with the Issa Somali predominant.

Holhol is situated on a spur of a plateau, an upland characterized by two major wadis which run beside it. Holhol is located between the Guban Desert on the east and the Gagegando Mountians on the west. Holhol's terrain is typified by its mountains.

• Railway stations in Ethiopia
• List of reduplicated place names