Somaliland

Hargeisa — the capital of Somaliland (a self-declared independent republic since 1991 — unrecognised by any UN member state but functioning as a stable, democratic country with its own currency, passport, military and elected government, carved out of the former British Somaliland protectorate after the collapse of the Somali state — population 4.5 million, operating for 30+ years with functioning elections, no UN recognition and great stability compared to Somalia) with the MiG monument and the Hargeisa cultural centre.

Somaliland declared independence from Somalia on 18 May 1991, as the former British Somaliland Protectorate that had united with Italian Somalia in 1960. Despite 30+ years of de facto independence, stable governance, multiple peaceful democratic elections and a functioning economy, no UN member state formally recognises Somaliland as an independent country — making it the world’s most successful unrecognised state and a unique case study in international law and state legitimacy.

Laas Geel (the most important and best-preserved prehistoric rock art site in Africa — a series of cave shelters 50km northeast of Hargeisa containing extraordinary naturalistic paintings of cattle, humans and animals dating from 9,000–3,000 years ago, the finest rock art in the Horn of Africa and among the finest in the world, discovered by French archaeologists in 2002 and not yet widely known outside the specialist community — accessible by 4WD from Hargeisa in 2 hours).

Laas Geel (meaning “camel watering hole” in Somali — discovered 2002 by a French archaeological team from CNRS, published 2006 — contains approximately 10,000 individual painted figures in caves sheltered by granite rock overhangs, the paintings preserved by the dry climate in vivid colour: red and orange cattle with decorated horns, white-robed humans performing rituals, and stylised animals painted with anatomical precision — the most technically accomplished Neolithic rock art in the Horn of Africa.

Berbera (the main port of Somaliland on the Gulf of Aden — one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the Horn of Africa, a strategic port used by the Ottoman Empire, Egyptian Khedives, the British East India Company and the British colonial administration — with the Ottoman-era buildings, the British colonial architecture, the finest beaches in the Horn of Africa and the remarkable Red Sea reef ecosystem accessible from the beach, plus whale shark encounters October–February) and the Berbera Tukul traditional village.

Berbera port was the most important anchorage in the Gulf of Aden for the eastern Red Sea trade for 2,000 years — the natural harbour (the deepest natural harbour between Djibouti and Aden) was used by Arab, Ottoman, Indian and British traders. The DP World Berbera Port development (a 30-year concession signed in 2016 with the UAE) has transformed Berbera into a modern port handling Ethiopia’s growing export trade, giving Somaliland significant new economic leverage.

Burao (the second city of Somaliland — the livestock trading capital of the Horn of Africa, where hundreds of thousands of camels, cattle, sheep and goats are assembled for export to the Gulf States — the most important single livestock market in eastern Africa, with 5 million animals exported annually from Berbera port to Saudi Arabia, Yemen and the UAE — accessible by paved road from Hargeisa in 2 hours) and the traditional Somali nomadic culture of the surrounding plateau.

Somaliland exports approximately 5 million head of livestock (camels, cattle, sheep and goats) to Gulf countries annually through Berbera port — making livestock the primary export earner and the backbone of the Somaliland economy. The export of live animals to Mecca for the Hajj (approximately 2 million animals per year in the weeks before the pilgrimage) is the most important single commercial event in Somaliland’s annual economic cycle.

Sheikh (a small highland town in the Golis Mountains, 65km east of Berbera — the former British colonial hill station at 1,300m, built to escape the coastal heat, with the most intact British colonial architecture in Somaliland including the Sheffield School and the colonial administrative buildings — the finest birdwatching site in Somaliland, with the Somali starling, Somali pigeon and several range-restricted Somali endemics in the juniper forest of the escarpment).

The Sheikh escarpment birdwatching (the juniper and acacia forest of the Golis Mountains — a range of mountains running parallel to the Gulf of Aden coast at 1,000–2,000m — is a recognised Endemic Bird Area (EBA) with 15 bird species found only in the Somali-Masai arid zone, including the Somali starling, the Somali pigeon and the long-tailed cormorant. The Golis range is the most accessible Somali endemic birdwatching site in the entire Horn of Africa.

Hargeisa’s cultural scene (the National Museum of Somaliland, the Hargeisa Cultural Centre (an internationally supported arts and literature centre hosting annual book fairs and literary events — the most active literary culture in the Horn of Africa), the camel milk cafes (the finest camel milk in the world, drunk fresh or fermented, the most important food product in Somali nomadic culture) and the colourful Hargeisa market with frankincense, myrrh and traditional Somali silver jewellery).

The Hargeisa International Book Fair (established 2008 — the only international literary festival in the Horn of Africa, held annually in July, attracting Somali diaspora writers from around the world, international publishers and authors — is the most striking cultural institution of the Somali-speaking world and a demonstration of civil society functioning in an unrecognised state. The fair attracts 50,000+ visitors annually.

A final morning in Hargeisa: the camel market (the world’s largest daily camel auction, 1,000+ camels traded every morning from 6am in the dedicated market north of the city), the Hargeisa frankincense market (Somaliland exports Boswellia sacra — the finest frankincense resin in the world, used in the highest-quality church incense and perfumery globally, grown on the dry limestone hills of the Sanaag region) and the Hargeisa airport lounge before flying from Egal International Airport (HGA).

Somaliland frankincense (Boswellia sacra — harvested from the frankincense trees of the Sanaag and Sool regions of Somaliland, the highest-grade frankincense resin in the world, the same resin offered by the Magi at the Nativity and still used in Catholic, Orthodox and Coptic church ceremonies — is sold at the Hargeisa market for US$5–20 per kg raw, representing one of the world’s most undervalued luxury commodities.