Blogs from Hargeisa, Somaliland, Somalia, Africa

You live in Somalia where law and order is collapsing around you, a country where warlords and terrorists preach hate against your moderate values and beliefs. A country consumed by war and piracy in which you want no part, a country failing to provide the basic services that you need. Crippled by corruption and poverty, you look for a way out, a distant land rising from the rubble, a shining light amidst the political darkness, a glimmer of hope in the horn of Africa. That future is Somaliland. Mogadishu is the corrupt capital for the failed state of Somalia, a place where pirates and terrorists rule. The Fund for Peace has ranked Somalia number one according to its ‘Failed States Index’. Yet to the north, the breakaway region of Somaliland is stable and at peace. Un-recognized ... read more

I woke up with a headache and feeling cranky. My trip to the beach was canceled because of the monsoon rain. I went down to the dining area and ate a breakfast of millet porridge and milk. They were also serving a special, xalwo, which is a jelly-like candy made from water, sugar and honey. I ate half of the bread and left the other half untouched on the plate. In Somalia, it's polite to leave a little bit of food to show you were given enough to eat, and treated kindly. Afterward there was nothing interesting to do, so I spent the rest of the day lounging and looking for anything else interesting about the country. I found out that there's no truly functioning national government in Somalia and the local long form (name) for ... read more

After the beach trip I was very tired. I'm leaving Somalia tomorrow, and I'm almost relieved. It's been extremely hot and humid, and the monsoon rains are deafening. But some parts I will miss, like the Laas Geel cave paintings and the beach. Right now, everything is already packed. To cap off the trip, I went snorkeling off the Berbera coast with my underwater camera. I saw a dolphin swimming by and the coral reefs were vibrant with color. A huge turtle passed me and I had to take a picture. After half an hour of exploring the water, the boat guide said it was time to go back. It was getting dark and the boaters didn't want to take chances with a run in with pirates. I climbed back on and the boat zoomed back ... read more

Our plane just landed at Hargeisa Egal International Airport in Hargeisa, which is in northern Somalia. The country is just east of Ethiopia on the horn of Africa. the climate here is extremely hot and arid. The bus passed a lot of goats, one of their principal exports. When the bus arrived at the hotel, I asked for something to drink and got some Shah Hawaash, which is a traditional Somali drink. Water here isn't as great as the water in the US because it's contaminated. The guy at the front desk suggested to the tourists not to drink any water unless it's bottled. Tomorrow, I'm going to see the Laas Geel cave. The travel brochure said that it had a lot of cave paintings dating back to the BC's. Somalia has tons of sights to ... read more

Hargeisa is the main city and capital of Somaliland. Unlike the coastal towns, such as Berbera and Zeilah, which are at least 2,000 years old, Hargeisa is a new town. Before it was made the capital of the British Protectorate of Somaliland in the 1920s, Hargeisa used to be a caravan stop between the high plateau and the coastal towns. Its main attribute then was the availability of water from the bed of its river (wadi), which is dry except in rainy weather. The wadi is locally known as 'maroodi-jeeh' (elephant digs), as elephants used to dig holes in its middle to get to the water in the dry season. (Unluckily, the elephants have long vanished in this corner of the world.) The town went through rapid development up to the 1988 when it was ... read more