The Tadjourah Region (Somali: Gobolka Tajuura, Afar: Tagórri Rakaakay) is a region in north-central Djibouti, the largest of its six regions. With its capital at Tadjourah, it has an area of 7,100 square kilometres (2,700 sq mi). The region has active salt and fisheries industries, and is served by the Tadjoura Airport.
One of the first French people to work in Djibouti the poet Arthur Rimbaud became a trader, and lived in Tadjourah from 1885 to 1886. He was the owner of a particular ship carrying weapons to be sold to the king of Shoa, cousin of the father of future Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie. Among the villages in the region include Tadjourah, Kalaf, Sagalou and Hankatta.
The region is the largest of the country's 'six' (one of which is sometimes termed a city instead of a region, the country's eponymous capital with the bulk of the country's population, Djibouti (city)). A mixture of semi-desert mountains and desert, the region is 35.5 times larger than the capital's area and has a population nine times smaller. The region is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Ethiopia to the northwest, the Obock Region to the northeast, the Dikhil and Arta regions and Lake Asal to the south, and the Gulf of Tadjourah to the southeast.
Tadjoura (Afar: Tagórri; Arabic: تاجورة Tağūrah, Somali: Tajuura) is the oldest town in Djibouti and the capital of the Tadjourah Region. Lying on the Gulf of Tadjoura, it is home to a population of around 25,000 inhabitants. It is the third largest city in the country after Djibouti City and Ali Sabieh.
Tadjoura has an airstrip and is linked by ferry with Djibouti City. It is also known for its whitewashed buildings and nearby beaches.
The Afar name Tagórri derives from the noun tágor or tógor, (pl. tágar meaning "outre à puiser" ("goatskin flask for drawing water"). The name Tagórri is specifically derived from *tagór-li, which means "qui a des outre à puiser" ("that which has goatskin flasks to draw water"), in effect meaning "abondante en eau" ("abundant with water").
During the Middle Ages, Tadjoura was ruled by the Adal Sultanate. It later formed a part of the French Somaliland protectorate in the first half of the 20th century.
Ifat Sultanate 1285–1415 Adal Sultanate 1415–1577
Habesh Eyalet 1554–1882
French Somaliland 1896-1967
French Territory of the Afars and the Issas 1967-1977
Republic of Djibouti 1977–present