Hafun: Former Capital City of Somalia

[BN]

I was not aware of this fact, Live and learn as the saying goes.

 

Destroyed Town Was One Time Capital City

 

The Nation (Nairobi)

 

February 4, 2005

Posted to the web February 4, 2005

 

Mugo Njeru

Nairobi

 

Widow Nurto Ibrahim Mudey, who lost her husband and son in the tragedy, cooks a meal outside her makeshift house in Hafun.

 

The rocky island of Hafun, off the northern coast of Somalia, has a rich history.

 

It was once the capital city of Somalia. Historians, archaeologists and the Royal Geographical Society would love to tear into pieces what many have over the years referred to as an island.

 

It would have qualified for the status had it not been for a thin 100 km or so strip of land that joins it with the mainland Somalia.

 

Bosaso is not far away from the port of Aden in Yemen, which is a partner trading port.

 

Although it is a 50-minute flight from Bosaso in the Gulf of Aden using a caravan aircraft, those who have travelled to Hafun by road talk of a rough dusty stretch of about 500 km, which is tackled in two days.

 

Aviation experts said a Beechcraft plane takes about five straight hours from Bosaso to Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

 

And the thin strip of land can only accommodate a two-way road but currently, only one vehicle can be accommodated as part of it has been damaged.

 

God forbid if the road is cut off and both sides of the sea meet, as Hafun would be completely cut-off from the rest of the world, leaving only the air and sea entries.

 

It is probably due to this that the Italians, who early last century colonised Somalia, set up a fortified base there, which they went on to make their capital city.

 

Remains of what was a huge sea port stand on the southern part of the land that has little vegetation.

 

But most of the historical buildings, some built in the 19th century, were reduced to ruins through heavy shelling by the British in 1942 during the Second World War.

 

They included the port and a huge oil reservoir tank concealed behind a hill, which overlooked the port.

 

Black building stones are still visible on the damaged parts of the oil tank and the ports harbour.

 

The storeyed structure, which used to be a giant salt factory had its windows, doors and some floors shattered but it refused to crumble to the ground. And neither did the tsunami tidal waves shake it.

 

But across the hills is yet another interesting spectre - tombs.

 

Looking like ant-hills, the tombs, which are marked with stones, are said to contain a gem of the lives of Syrians, who the locals say occupied the land before the Somalis moved in from the mainland.

 

http://allafrica.com/stories/200502040043.html

[General Duke]

Syrians, who the locals say occupied the land before the Somalis moved in from the mainland

Interesting, shows just how much of our history we know.

[NASSIR]

I hope we would have goad roads to tour places near to our islands. Haafuun should be made historical city , the OLD TOWN of Somalia.

[Suldaanka]

Hafun: Former Capital City of

Somalia

Somalia?? I am sure you didn't take Mugo Njeru's ( Kenyan journalist) confusion for real.

 

Hafun was the old city of Mijertenia region (currently Puntland). Just like Shiekh or Zeila were once the capitals of Somaliland. Althought you can say Zeila was in fact the first capital of the Islamic state of Ifat.

[BN]

Here are a couple of other articles:

 

Those who lost their homes initially sheltered in the school. But UNICEF supplied plastic sheeting with which they have patched together makeshift homes amid the ruins of what was once the capital of Somalia under Italian rule.

Tsunami: From Half Way Across the World(CNN/AP)

 

Hafun was one of the worst-hit places. Most of the town, the former Italian colonial capital, was leveled. Nineteen people were found dead and 132 were missing, minimal compared with Asia but a trauma for a close-knit town of 3,000.

Tsunami Relief: Recovery Efforts

 

Once the bustling capital of Italian Somaliland, it bears the scars of the World War 2 battle in which the British bombed and seized the town from Mussolini’s forces.

UNICEF: Tsunami Relief