Somalia

Likes & Dislikes

Likes

Somalia - Secondo Lido Beach - satisfactory security - Viktor Ohotin's photo (2019)

1. The vibration of the dense crowd in the Old Town, nicknamed,,Shanghai" (on the eastern side of Mogadishu)

2. On the weekend we went watching the locals of Mogadishu on the Lido Beach - families splashed in the water full of zeal, besides we marveled at girls surfing wearing hijab

3. Surprised to find a Starbucks in a renovated building of the old town center

4. Surprised likewise to see how many locals can afford lavish shopping (we found out that most of them are spending the money they have got from relatives living in rich countries)

5. It is promising for Somalia that there are many constructions going on

6. The heritage of the Italian colonial past: cappuchino, light italian bread

7. The Bakara market in Mogadishu astonished us with the sales of fire weapons (I doubt that any license is required)

8. We could eat delicious and fresh fishes but at few places

9. The locals were friendly, hospitable to us (I even practiced my broken Italian, just for fun)

Dislikes

1. The colossal military presence on the international airport promised us comforting security; nonetheless, it was not an idyllic view

2. We had, of course, all the time, a fear of terror threats, country road robbery, even kidnapping (but oh well, we were the crazy guys deciding to visit such a dangerous destination) .

3. The,,protection money" we had to pay at the country road checkpoints

4. A lot of ruined buildings, dust, and rubbish on the broad avenues of the capital

5. The mass of fake pearls offered on the markets (prices are adjusted to that fact)

6. Outside Mogadishu, we had to tolerate the transport and hygiene inconveniences, apart from the security ones

7. The country landscape is mostly dry grassland, not very spectacular

8. A total absence of monuments, a result of the wars of the last decades

9. Horrified to be in a country where 98% of the female population aged between 15 and 49 had undergone the procedure genital mutilation - we wondered to what extent is all that aimed at depriving women to have clitoris-related sexual pleasure

Mogadishu - ruins of the cathedral - much of the building was destroyed in 2008 by al-Shabaab terrorists - Viktor Ohotin's photo

Mogadishu - ruins of the cathedral - Viktor Ohotin's photo (2019)

Opinions

Somalia - kids

“There is no question that the rules, procedures and protection schemes to ensure the security of travelers in Somalia are the result of very well-founded concerns. On the other hand, many visitors suspect that maintaining the perception of Somalia as a uniquely dangerous country also serves a business purpose, since the bodyguard and security services offered to travelers generate a tidy profit. There are also many, many security personnel, maintained at public expense, whose main purpose seems to be the protection of foreign visitors (most of them not tourists). There are many large cities around the world which are visited by hordes of tourists, and which have a higher murder rate than Somalia, though less of a fuss is made about them. (J.K., 2014)

Practicals

Shopping

Somalia - market scene - s.h. photo

Public safety

Somalia - police car

Somalia - beach walk with armed escort - Viktor Ohotin's photo (2019)

Background

Somalia - national flag fashion

Destination in brief

Somalia is the easternmost country of Africa, on the Horn of Africa. Neighbors: Djibouti (north), Ethiopia (west), Kenya (south west). Somalia has coast along the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea.

Size: 637,655 km² (246,200 mi²)

Capital city: Mogadishu

Population (in 2020): 12,1 million

Languages: Somali is the official language

Religions: 99,8% Muslim

Form of government: federal republic

Somalia gained independence in 1960.

Currency: Somali schilling (SOS)

Average net monthly salary (in 2020): 370 USD

Most commo surname: Ali

History

Somalia, as a country, never existed before Britain, France and Italy, arrived at the Somali coast. Mostly tribes lived there, a few united under a prince of some standing, with some nominal influence from the faraway Ottoman Caliphate.
At the coast, the seafaring Omani Arabs from Oman and Zanzibar had some settlements. In the 19th century, the Egyptian fleet of the Khedives sailed southwards and captured some settlements upon the Omanis. It did not last.
So the Italians arrived from Eritrea and the British from Aden and split the areas between them and the mighty Empire of Ethiopia. The Ethiopian property was and still is the Ogaden.
Colonization was not easy as the Dervishes under the Mad Mullah undertook a guerilla against the invaders Britain and the Ethiopian Empire. They even received the assistance of the Ottoman Caliphate, especially during World War One. Only in 1920 resistance ended.(Johan)

People

Somalia - youngs

Somalia - women

Somalia - Muslim women - suspicious look - s.v. photo

Attractions

Mogadishu

Mogadishu - Triumphal Arch Mogadishu, built by the Italians in the mid 1930's, for the visit to the city by the King of Italy - and the ruins behind it - Viktor Ohotin photo (2019)