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Top Attractions in Somalia

Mogadishu

Mogadishu, known locally as Xamar, is the largest and capital city of Somalia. Located in the coastal Banaadir region on the Indian Ocean, the city has served as an important port for centuries. As of 2015, it has a population of 1,280,000 residents. Tradition and old records assert that southern Somalia, including the Mogadishu area, was historically inhabited by hunter-gatherers. These were later joined by Cushitic agro-pastoralists, who would go on to establish local aristocracies. During its medieval Golden Age, Mogadishu was ruled by the Muzaffar dynasty, a vassal of the Ajuran Sultanate. It subsequently fell under the control of an assortment of local Sultanates and polities, most notably the Geledi Sultanate. The city later became the capital of Italian Somaliland in the colonial period. After the Somali Republic became independent in 1960, Mogadishu became known and promoted as the White Pearl of the Indian Ocean. After the ousting of the Siad Barre regime in 1991 and the ensuing civil war, various militias fought for control of the city, later to be replaced by the Islamic Courts Union in the mid-2000s. The ICU thereafter splintered into more radical groups, notably Al-Shabaab, which fought the Transitional Federal Government and its AMISOM allies. With a change in administration in late 2010, government troops and their military partners had succeeded in forcing out Al-Shabaab by August 2011. Mogadishu has subsequently experienced a period of intense reconstruction. As Somalia's capital city, many important national institutions are based in Mogadishu. It is the seat of the Federal Government of Somalia established in August 2012, with the Somalia Federal Parliament serving as the government's legislative branch. Hassan Mohamed Hussein Mungab, a former military-court chairman, has been the Mayor of Mogadishu since February 2014. Villa Somalia is the official residential palace and principal workplace of the President of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. In May 2012, the First Somali Bank was established in the capital, which organized Mogadishu's first ever Technology, Entertainment, Design conference. The establishment of a local construction yard has also galvanized the city's real-estate sector. Arba'a Rukun Mosque is one of the oldest Islamic places of worship in the capital, built circa 667 . The Mosque of Islamic Solidarity in Mogadishu is the largest masjid in the Horn region. Mogadishu Cathedral was built in 1928 by the colonial authorities in Italian Somaliland in a Norman Gothic style, and served as the traditional seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mogadiscio. The National Museum of Somalia is based in Mogadishu and holds many culturally important artefacts. The National Library of Somalia is undergoing a $1 million Somali federal government funded renovation, including a new library complex. Mogadishu is home to a number of scholastic and media institutions. As part of the municipality's urban renewal program, 100 schools across the capital are scheduled to be refurbished and reopened. The Somali National University was established in the 1950s, and professors from the university later founded the non-governmental Mogadishu University . Benadir University was established in 2002 with the intention of training doctors. Various national sporting bodies have their headquarters in Mogadishu, including the Somali Football Federation and the Somali Olympic Committee. Mogadishu Stadium was constructed in 1978 during the Siad Barre administration, with the assistance of Chinese engineers. It hosts football matches with teams from the Somalia League and the Somalia Cup. Additionally, the Port of Mogadishu serves as a major national seaport and is the largest harbour in Somalia. Mogadishu International Airport, the capital's main airport, is the hub of the relaunched national carrier Somali Airlines.

Hargeysa

Hargeisa, (Somali: Hargeysa, Arabic: هرجيسا‎), is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Somaliland, a self-declared state that is internationally recognized as an autonomous region of Somalia. During the Middle Ages, Hargeisa was part of the Adal Sultanate's domain. The city later succeeded Berbera as the capital of the British Somaliland protectorate in 1941. In 1960, the protectorate gained independence and united as scheduled days later with the Trust Territory of Somaliland (the former Italian Somaliland) to form the Somali Republic (Somalia) on July 1. Hargeisa is situated in a valley in the Galgodon (Ogo) highlands, and sits at an elevation of 1,334 m (4,377 ft). Home to rock art from the Neolithic period, the city is also a commercial hub for precious stone-cutting, construction, retail services and importing/exporting, among other activities.

Kismayo

Kismayo is a port city in the southern Lower Juba province of Somalia. It is the commercial capital of the autonomous Jubaland region. The town is situated 528 kilometres southwest of Mogadishu, near the mouth of the Jubba River, where the waters empty into the Indian Ocean. As of 2011, the local population is estimated at 183,300 inhabitants. From 1836 until 1861, Kismayo and other parts of Jubaland were claimed by the Sultanate of Muscat and the Geledi Sultanate, and were later incorporated into British East Africa. In 1925, Jubaland was ceded to Italy, forming a part of Italian Somaliland. On 1 July 1960, the region, along with the rest of Italian Somaliland and British Somaliland, became part of the independent republic of Somalia. Kismayo was later the site of numerous battles during the civil war. In late 2006, Islamist militants gained control of most of the city. To reclaim possession of the territory, a new autonomous regional administration dubbed Azania was announced in 2010 and formalized in 2011. In September 2012, the Somali National Army and AMISOM troops re-captured the city from the Al-Shabaab insurgents. The Juba Interim Administration was subsequently officially established and recognized in 2013.

Kismaayo

Kismayo is a port city in the southern Lower Juba province of Somalia. It is the commercial capital of the autonomous Jubaland region. The town is situated 328 miles southwest of Mogadishu, near the mouth of the Jubba River, where the waters empty into the Indian Ocean. As of 2011, the local population is estimated at 183,300 inhabitants. During the Middle Ages, the influential Somali Ajuran Sultanate held sway over the territory, followed in turn by the Sultanate of the Geledi. From 1836 until 1861, Kismayo and other parts of Jubaland were claimed by the Sultanate of Muscat , and were later incorporated into British East Africa. In 1925, Jubaland was ceded to Italy, forming a part of Italian Somaliland. On 1 July 1960, the region, along with the rest of Italian Somaliland and British Somaliland, became part of the independent republic of Somalia. Kismayo was later the site of numerous battles during the civil war. In late 2006, Islamist militants gained control of most of the city. To reclaim possession of the territory, a new autonomous regional administration dubbed Azania was announced in 2010 and formalized in 2011. In September 2012, the Somali National Army and AMISOM troops re-captured the city from the Al-Shabaab insurgents. The Juba Interim Administration was subsequently officially established and recognized in 2013.

Embassy of the United States

The Embassy of the United States of America to Somalia was a diplomatic mission of the United States in Mogadishu, Somalia from 1960 to 1991. In 1957, the US opened a Consulate-General in Mogadishu—the capital of the Trust Territory of Somalia, a UN trusteeship under Italian administration. The consulate was upgraded to embassy status in July 1960, when the US recognized Somalia's independence and appointed an ambassador. The embassy served to counter Soviet influence during the Cold War and also served as a base for the United States Agency for International Development, which had a large presence in the country. In 1989, the embassy moved from a dilapidated building in central Mogadishu to a new compound on the outskirts of the city. Violence quickly enveloped the city in late December 1990, during the Somali Civil War, and on 1 January 1991, the ambassador contacted the State Department to request the closure and evacuation of the embassy. Approval was given the following day, but violence and the collapse of the central government prevented the US, and several other countries, from airlifting their diplomats and civilians through Mogadishu International Airport. The USS Guam and USS Trenton, which were stationed off the coast of Oman, were dispatched to airlift staff from the embassy; American civilians and many foreign diplomats also gathered at the embassy, seeking evacuation. The embassy closed on January 5, 1991 and 281 American and foreign diplomats and civilians were airlifted by helicopter from the embassy compound to Guam and Trenton. In December 1992, the embassy compound was reoccupied and repaired to serve as a headquarters for US personnel within the Unified Task Force and, following the transition to UN control, a base for UNOSOM. The US worked with various parties in Somalia to establish peace and formally recognized the newly established Federal Government of Somalia in January 2013. In May 2015, US Secretary of State John Kerry visited Somalia and stated that the US plans to reopen its embassy soon; the Somali government presented him with the real estate deed for land reserved for the new US embassy compound in Mogadishu. The move came three months after President Obama nominated Katherine Dhanani to the post of US ambassador to Somalia, who would have been the first US ambassador to Somalia since 1991, but she withdrew three months later.

Battle of Mogadishu

The Battle of Mogadishu or Day of the Rangers , was part of Operation Gothic Serpent and was fought on the 3rd and 4 October 1993, in Mogadishu, Somalia, between forces of the United States, supported by UNOSOM II, and Somali militiamen loyal to the self-proclaimed president-to-be Mohamed Farrah Aidid, who had support from armed civilian fighters. The battle is also referred to as the First Battle of Mogadishu to distinguish it from subsequent battles in that city, such as the Second Battle of Mogadishu of 2006. The initial U.S. Joint Special Operations force, Task Force Ranger, was a collaboration of various elite special forces units from Army Special Operations Command, Air Force Special Operations Command and Navy Special Warfare Command. Task Force Ranger was dispatched to seize two of Aidid's high-echelon lieutenants during a meeting in the city. The goal of the operation was achieved, though conditions spiraled into the deadly Battle of Mogadishu. The initial operation of 3 October 1993, intended to last an hour, became an overnight standoff and rescue operation extending into daylight hours of 4 October.

Berbera

Berbera (Somali: Barbara, Arabic: بربرة‎) is a city in the northwestern Berbera District of Somaliland, a self-declared republic internationally recognized as an autonomous region of Somalia. It is situated in the Woqooyi Galbeed province. In antiquity, Berbera was part of a chain of commercial port cities along the Somali seaboard. It later served as the capital of the British Somaliland protectorate from 1884 to 1941, when it was replaced by Hargeisa. In 1960, the British Somaliland protectorate gained independence as the State of Somaliland and united as scheduled five days later with the Trust Territory of Somaliland (the former Italian Somaliland) to form the Somali Republic (Somalia). Located strategically on the oil route, the city has a deep seaport, which serves as the region's main commercial harbor.

Zeila

Zeila (Somali: Saylac, Arabic: زيلع‎), also known as Zaila, is a port city in the northwestern Awdal region of Somalia. In antiquity, it was identified with the commercial port of Avalites described in the 1st century Greco-Roman travelogue the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, an area that was situated in the historic northern Barbara region. The town evolved into an early Islamic center with the arrival of Muslims shortly after the hijra. By the 9th century, Zeila would be described as the capital of an already-established Adal kingdom, and would attain its height of prosperity a few centuries later in the 14th century. The city subsequently came under Ottoman and British protection. In the post-independence period, Zeila was administered as part of the official Zeila District in the Awdal region of Somalia. Currently, it serves as the commercial capital of Salal region, Somalia.
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