Jijiga, Ethiopia · UTC+3 ☆

Jijiga is the capital of Ethiopia’s Somali Regional State, in the country’s east near the border with Somalia. It runs on East Africa Time, UTC+3, the same as Addis Ababa and all of Ethiopia. No daylight saving.

Like all of Ethiopia, Jijiga also uses the traditional Ethiopian clock, which starts counting hours at dawn (around 6am in international time). This means “9 o’clock” in the Ethiopian system is 3pm on the international clock, and scheduling requires specifying which system you are using.

A border city between two Ethiopias

Jijiga is predominantly Somali by ethnicity and language. The Ethiopian Somali community shares language and culture with neighboring Somalia, but has been part of Ethiopia since the Ogaden War of 1977-78, when Ethiopian forces, with Soviet and Cuban support, repelled a Somali invasion.

The city’s proximity to the Somalia border means that Somali time, UTC+3, matches the Ethiopian standard, so there is no clock change at the border, even though the civil and cultural context changes dramatically.

Islam and the prayer schedule

Jijiga is a predominantly Muslim city. The five daily prayers, timed by the sun’s position, structure the day alongside the dual clock system. The adhan calls the city to Fajr before dawn, to Dhuhr near noon, to Asr in the afternoon, to Maghrib at sunset, and to Isha after dark.

Convert 9am Jijiga time to other cities.

Sources

• IANA Time Zone Database
• Ethiopian Central Statistical Agency
• Markakis, John. Ethiopia: The Last Two Frontiers. James Currey, 2011.