After extensive planning in the UK
Richard and I had a journey of a lifetime when travelling
to Djibouti. Time doesn't feel like passing you by when you're immersed with the
fantastic people and beautiful landscapes of this magnificent country called
Djibouti. Our amazing journey through Djibouti saw us visiting glorious
beaches exploring ancient caves visiting historical sites and enjoying the local
Djiboutian cuisines. However as with all good things. Our time there came to an
end. We thanked our local guides Ahmed and Mohammed and their families for the warm hospitality they shared with us after a heartfelt departure, we prepared
ourselves for our next adventure as we cross the border that divides Djibouti
and Somalia. This trip will provide me with the opportunity to reconnect with
segments of my maternal family who live in this region. It's been a while since I
last saw them and I can't wait to see some of my cousins and hug my aunts, my
mother sisters once again. *Somalia be the world's most dangerous place... Warning from Somaliland where four countries in that region are now on the
brink of famine... Somalia: the eastern most nation in the
Horn of Africa is a devastated country For many people Africa conjures up and
fosters a relentless image of a dangerous, unstable and chaotic continent. This is even more true for the Horn of Africa. My name is Mohammed Ibrahim Shire.
I was born in Somalia but spent most of my life in the West. I grew up on these
images but a visit to the region in 2015 changed my whole perception and my life. As a result I made it my personal mission to show to the world the other
side of the Horn of Africa. Revealing its diverse scenic landscapes;
the warm hospitalities of the peoples that lived there and its various beautiful
cultures. Join me as I embark on a journey to this magical and
misunderstood region. Somalia is a country with a rich history
stretching back centuries. Originally known to the ancient Egyptians at as land of Punt; it boasts the longest coastline on the continent of Africa. The
Somali people have a rich cultural legacy derived from pride in their common
language of poetry It's also a country that has been
blighted by civil war after the state collapse in 1991 After crossing the border between
Djibouti and Somaliland, we make our way to the ancient port city of Zeila, one of
the oldest ports of East Africa Zella is renowned for its ancient
history and buildings as well as coral reefs, mangroves and offshore islands. Now on the outskirts of this city is a group of islands, the main one being called the
Sa'ad-Diin Islands. We'll be heading there shortly now. We're just packing our stuff
onto the boat and let's see what the island has to offer. Accompanying me on this excursion is my
maternal cousin, Barkhad. I haven't seen my cousin in quite some time, so this is a great chance to reconnect with him. So we are on our way to Sa'ad-Diin Islands. It's been a little bit treacherous so far but because the sun on our backs, we're riding on the waves so it should be looking up. Bags and all our equipment, we should be
there roughly in so a half an hour. We are approaching one of the offshore
islands of Zeila called Sa'ad-Din island named after the Somali Sultan Sa'ad-Diin II
of the Somali sultanate of Ifat. The Sa'ad-Din island is part of the Zeila
archipelago; a group of islands that has no permanent residence. We are just heading in a tunnel where we could see both green lush trees on both sides. It has the look
of an Amazon rainforest. I've never knew that it existed before
embarking on this journey. I read a great deal about the conquests of Imam Sa'ad Diin II. Sa'ad-Diin deal was the last official leader of the Ifat sultanate and lead a
successful campaign against the Ethiopian empire. We are on Sa'ad-Diin island and are
looking for his burial site. The Iman man who was killed by the Ethiopian emperor in
the 14th 15th century. It's like finding a needle in a haystack. I mean this land
is massive, this island, and to find his burial site is proving to be quite
difficult but I'm hopeful that we find Mission not accomplished; We try to look
for the burial site of Imam Sa'ad-Diin II. Apparently, according to alocal legend he
is buried around this site but there's no mark or anything to indicate where he
is buried but we are quite close it has to be around this area... I mean I
hope the next person could find it.. now it went well. Sa'ad Diin is a beautiful
beautiful island, highly unexplored. And I do hope that it becomes a tourist destination in the future. As the sunset fades we visit the ruins of one of the oldest mosque in Africa called Masjitul Qibla-tayn. In English: The mosque of the two Qiblas. Here with me is a local historian called
Rashid who has agreed to tell me some of the history behind these ruins
Zeila is known for this iconic site called the Qibla-tayn Basically the Qibla means the direction that the Muslim face when praying. There are two qiblas in Zeila: the Qibla to Makkah and the qibla to Jerusalem. Now this here is the one that points to Makkah and over there is what used to be the first Qiblah that was
erected in Zeila, the one that points to Jerusalem. According to Rashid here, a
local resident, he said that once islam was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) a new qibla direction was erected that points to Makkah. The old one was destroyed by a local businessman many centuries ago. The Makkah one still stands tall. The next morning, we are on our way
towards the city of Borame. Borame is build in a mountainous region with rolling hills and lush greenery. It is the second largest city in the self- declared state of Somaliland. Whilst the city is known for the stunning beauty the people here are renowned for their friendliness and hospitality. Life on the outskirts is simple and peaceful. We decided to explore the nearby areas. We are on a cliff. Tthis area is called old Amoud. It was usually part of the old Adal sultanate. The local people dismantled them and then used them to build houses in Borame. We are on our way now to Hargeisa and see the beautiful city of Hargeisa. Along the way we met some interesting
characters. At the book fair I met with a good
friend of mine from the UK Mohammed is a Somali British
British publisher. I think you're the only Somali publisher in the UK right. At the moment, mainstream, yeah as a mainstream publisher. The books we've published amongst other things these titles celebrating literature, Somali
literature, culture that sort of thing Mohammed agreed to be my guide in showing me some of the arts features at the festival. We are embarking on a hike to experience another form of art. The ancient arts of the Somalis We are finally at the Laas-Geel rock art site. Behind us, you see the famous Laas-Geel. It's just a piece of it but it
expands this whole area I read somewhere that it said it's about 5000 BC so it's maybe 7000, give or take 10000 years old. It's amazing that only two months ago, we were together in the UK and now we find ourselves enjoying this beautiful landscape We continue our hiking trip to another magnificent place. We came with a taxi but he dropped us off a couple of miles before the hills. So, we have to walk around 2 to 3 miles to the actual hills [Naaso-Hablood] I literally have to use my camera stick as a walking stick. It's a walking stick. And now we have trek an hour. I'm so annoyed with you. We need the exercise. You need the exercise That was a low blow. Can you even smell. It's a rotting carcass. Look at that hole. It's a hyena hole. This pair of near-identical pyramidal hills is known as Nasa-Hablood. Local legend has it that the hills with the steps-like upper slopes are man-made pyramids We came across a local and he agreed to be our guide he's gonna lead us all the way to the hills. At least that should be relief for us
because we do need some little bit of help once the slaughter camels and goats in
the city they drain the blood and they actually pull it over here these are
actually pools of blood try to distance yourself from the city
despite the pools of blood the beauty of this place welcomes you is definitely a
must visit for hiking lovers and gays are bustles with activity and
construction and a sense of community belonging washes over you even as a
visitor I'm trying to negotiate actually a good price for the watermelon without
quest sweet but you know you have to actually bargain hard for it heaven this
is so good okay these are camel meats actually it's
ideally eaten during breakfast I think is one of the favorite breakfast we're
in the biggest market in her Kaiser it's kind of like a bazaar where you can find
all kind of items from clothes shoes food etc we're gonna walk around and see
what kind of items they have in store for us hi this is caldera this famous among
smaller woman they used to actually whenever we do go to events weddings etc
and a funny thing is yeah then never we used the same draft twice so every time
to go to a new wedding they have to buy a new data this piece of this piece of
clothes actually quite the most expensive in the market the quite
popular the quite in demand and they everywhere where we go and where we
morkul you go you can always find a piece of set of clothes these type of
clothes this particular salt has a lot of medicinal solutions for people that
you cut now fat is a levy stimulant that a lot of the men here queue on a daily
basis and as a side effect they have a lot of gastrics and a lot of problems
when it comes to stomach especially below the stomach so they use this
particular soft actually remedy them center mark is like a maze like sprawl
of covered and open stalls laden with local clouds imported clothes and pretty
much anywhere else you care to mention 15 year old Taylor on average daily he
makes around he tailors actually around 50 clothes for a woman he actually eats
only for women for their he jobs which is the cloud that the Muslim women were
once the Sun Goes Down and the McRib Islamic prayer is prayed the city buzzes
with activities tonight we attend an open mic event where upcoming artists
showcase their talents and case has much to offer to any
potential visitor from going on historical trips to enjoy his artistic
side but just plain having fun with your friends we leave her Gaza and head north to
explore some of the rural area we're in hell share arguably the best
beach on some Island it's quite hot here and I'm wearing the wrong colors but one
particular thing I noticed was that there's a Somali hat on the beach
usually Somalis are enormous and they actually live in the interior so we're
just gonna check out the hottest see why they've actually sat on the beach this
particular Somali hot belongs to one young family she's 16 years old and
husband is 21 years old they have one child together it's quite funny because
I've never seen a small hot on the beach so this guy need for me because usually
when I hear of small hot I always think of them actually far away inland the
reason why they put both this Somali house near the beach is because they
want to get a cooler environment it's per hot in interior so they just decided
to build huts near the beach unfortunately the soft sand of the beach
decided that we wouldn't be leaving anytime soon we jumped into the sea to
cool ourselves down behind us is a famous bakery in Barbara
it hasn't been functioning for close to 60 70 years he didn't live this simple
man named enemy burglary he fell in love with a rich girl across the block named
Holden as mom but was he found out that she was actually patrol to another man a
rich merchant he was filled with unrequited love and he closed down his
bakery and he actually moved away he went into solitary where writing poems
reciting poems for her on the hope that actually she will find some kind of love
for him and it was a sweet form a union but that didn't happen
further he died a lonely man full of fill put in a record to love and that's
how the story is according to the local people in its time I'm at the bar what a park in Barbara
this water is basically the whole source of water polo full of pepper
we were not allowed to go inside and collect some water but I think one of
the professionals actually had some water for me I just had a taste now I
guess it's only different than the water that we were used to but it's my most
sweet they're actually more natural and this particular spring has never run out
it's been there since the time Morel that's called quite amazing I think the
Turkish people the Ottomans actually do the sport and this system then the
English upgraded and now this particular system has never run dry has been the
main source for the whole bedrock quite some time now the Sun is at last heading
for the horizon and we are camping tonight at the Gandiva mountain
settlement just in time it's getting dark we were supposed to actually set
camp here we decided to actually go into one of the traditional house and I'm
gonna be sleeping here rich is gonna be sleeping there but let's hope that this
is happy tonight with a long day
I'm glad that we erupted at this place and even he has a nice soothing
temperature it was getting quite chilly so we decided to make this little
campfire to war myself can I have some food later on enjoyed what stars have a
nice chat I see what the nicest offer us
I made sure to wake up early so that I could watch the sunrise and enjoy the
iconic Koran liver escarpment coming here really gave me good new push a
level of new motivation actually I think I could do more I really think I could
do more once I go back we enter bro home of the largest livestock market in
the region we are here at the biggest last stock market is Somali Somali
nomads from Somalia Ethiopia and Kenya come here to sell the livestock this
part of market opens as early as 6 a.m. you can feel the sense of buzzing
activity that's going around here negotiations back hand deals seems that
we also attracted large crowds so one lamp cost $40 around here an average the
younger they are the more expensive to come our next step is a local village housing
internally displaced people as part of Somali faces diaspora organization that
I co-founded we have agreed to distribute gifts clothes an essential
item to the people that live in this camp these boxes behind me
I've been donated by a group of Somali women from London called Rockford
drought just a bunch of items such as toys clothes and shoes I think right
down if the donated to Somali pages this online platform now these boxes donated
by also by DHL then bring to a village outside burrow where a bunch of people
live that actually are in dire need I'm gonna just surprise them with these
gifts we have arrived a settlement we're just gonna unload the boxes now you can
see already the women and children gathering I can't wait to surprise them
basically all the distribution all the items the toys everything will go to the
men it said to the women and children because they actually are the pillars of
this so we make sure that all these items will go to them I will make sure
that everything is just behind a little bit disorganized something the
head of this camp is away but now the fun time is actually giving the gifts to
the children Akali fidella yeah this thing means a
lot to me personally because half of my family members live here
now before I go see if my family I have to be respect to my maternal grandfather
next to me is the biggest burial site in Brawl my maternal grandfather was a
travel enthusiast having traveled and worked in dozens of countries before
Somalis Civil War even though I had never had the honor of meeting him my
cousin and I have been taught of his compassion and his love for his family
so my father invited me for a famous dinner she says she has a surprise for
me in the end but I can't with her uncle it's been ages since I've been here in
Somaliland I had a traditional Somali home-cooked meal my aunt actually moves here
nine years ago I love them so we're just gonna go to the kitchen area one on and
the cousins are I'm gonna see what kind of food they are cooking the hell are
you gonna say hi I know so this is the colatina papaya papaya this just came here to pay
me a visit I think I've seen him last time when I
smoked it erupted in Somalia and you just want to see me you see dinner's ready oh my god I love
it dinner is ready take a month so we're
just gonna tell the camera off and we're just gonna feast actually in smother
college hoovering so we're just gonna Hoover the place with a mouse
I've truly missed the impeccable cooking of my aunt and it was just what I needed
so I'm so full bloated and I just found out the surprise is that my aunt
arranged a traditional dance outside her house it's gonna be amazing gonna be
proper Somali traditional dance I know we really watch the upper one in
Djibouti there's gonna be a Somali one we are enjoying the performance so much
that we are dancing throughout the dusk into the night we have one more dance to
go because he became quite dark we tried to actually bring the cross forwards I
put that kronole eyes shining toe as a group actually got some nice now it's
gonna be like that the lads gonna continue on the dance with you
the cool place of Somali traditional dances it was amazing these youngsters
are extremely extremely talented and glad them on the ranges they were just
phenomenal I loved it I loved it I loved it the
next morning finds us traveling to the outskirts of hiding Gobbo we just saw
this mesmerizing place while driving towards Eric gab
absolutely stunning and beautiful we just run towards it trying to see it for
ourselves you have this Somali hut on top of this lush green grass you have
these kids running around had to actually chase them because they were
running away from me I don't know why I'm not that scary but it's just
absolutely amazing I love it I actually love it
I never see anything like this before I finally met my friend and guide at the
Nasser so we decided it might be fun to milk a camel now the tricky part is we
have to find a second one or wonder this had a baby we just gave birth and
obviously it's quite dry season at the moment so it's difficult to find one last time I saw him was a few years back
he was kind enough to show me around and threw him a grew to love Erica we
traveled to Halon and Asian's town in the northern sonic region we arrived in
Halen it's quite a remote area in sanik region but this area houses one of the
ancestors of the Somali families shared Arad his tomb actually is buried in here
and we got the one of the protector of the keepers of this stone she Adam and
he's gonna just explain to us you know how long they've been guarding this
particular tone because it looks quite magnificent they're quite majestic as
well this tomb was built by many Somalis from different background different
clans and it's been frequented I think for the past let's say hundred years by
so many Somalis on a daily or yearly basis
people smiles from Australia Canada UK all over the world I should come here
and pay the respect to share that out and I think that's quite remarkable as
well I mean there's no clan ISM or anything involved in here people just
coming together just praying for the Sheikh and I'm just going to go inside
and see in how it looks like inside order to shear Adam a lot of ancestors
actually prominent as our around here especially from the many somatic kind of
families this one huge a massive actually an obviously quite compact but
this is quite that great huge legends dictate that the majority of Somalis
eponymous ancestors are buried here that's why you find this burial sites
where these mass ancestors are buried we leave this historic above very dry land
and head towards the eastern side of the Cenac region known for its green hilly
countryside the Alameda region has an impressive
mountain range rising tall above the dry seas side planes at the wolf of Eden an
amazing thing is that I feel like an explorer as opposed to a traveler
hunting for hidden gems in this part of the world unknown to the rest of the
world I can't wait to showcase the beauty of
East Africa and what is remarkable that I miss so many amazing people with so
been amazing human stories is addictive I want to meet more I want to see more I
want attract more the enigmatic and bandits Islamic city
of Medina is the most substantial and impressive accessible rune of its type
in Somaliland so we arrived at the historical site of almond una this site
is close to eight to nine hundred years old it was ruled by a powerful Kingdom
called the adult Sultanate they used to rule dis Plains across Ethiopia Somalia
so my land it's quite amazing that this stone block has the still intact
I used to read this in history books but to see it for myself is actually quite
remarkable now the biggest feature of this old town is the mosque it's still
half intech and you can see the entrance over here as I walk through it this site
used to be the reception area where the ADIZ perform the ablution which is the
daily cleansing ritual for Muslims before they actually pray or they used
to be a praying side now the main site is over there which I'm gonna go through
now what's amazing about this site is that you can see the engravings of the
windows still intact the Imam used to face that direction you
can see what a mom used to stand from the hodo which is the speech or lead the
prayer presumably that's what I used to stock up the books where is the Islamic
books or the Quran now this stood up windows had a purpose and that purpose
was delighted of the whole mosque and I just only dad it was also to give
atmosphere of a truly holy place we finally make our way to arigatou to
meet up with and an acid in his hometown it's waiting for me in the middle of the
city I blog so those are the NASA I just told him that we had a flat tire
I'm just gonna meet him in the middle of a city center it's gonna be a mission this time actually feels a life as
though it's animated and in constant movement at the same time you also get a
feeling of space and relaxation thousand acid you find a nice to see you again
one particular plate I'm looking forward to it's actually the waterfalls I cannot
wait just to take a nice good old swim in there
forget all the issues that we face we head for the other side of the Dallow
escarpment but once again a recurring friend is making its untimely appearance
that's right caught Chiapas almost reach the top of dollar mountains but we
actually stuck we're actually heading into a narrow pattern now so the car
actually did come moved you see the driver behind me trying to get out I
think is gonna be walking this is from now the Dallas Cartman is part of the
Alma de Banta range it's a dense beautiful and fragrant forest this
escarpment alone receives poor rain and miss than any other places in the Horn
of Africa approximately thousand species of plants
some of them unique to this region grow in the forests of Alma do so we just
arrived on the outskirts of Dallas mountains from Erik Garbo now we just
saw this pile of rocks on the way and it was quite interesting because I would
also quite sure there was a burial site or something else now the NASA told me
that it's quite something different is Khalid macgowran Cara well this is a
place where Somali Queen Arabella used to sit mm-hmm that Queen was cruel and
hostile to me she used to castrate men you can see
actually the green leaves on this pile of rocket it's quite little when it
comes to the amount of stones because I think a lot of angry man through these
turns toward this site I think it's time to of hell the tradition picture some
rocks on there ah shit there you go now this I don't
know how to explain it oh I think this is what they make maybe
the perfumes whoa what's this plant called and
somebody they caught thread see that yeah so I'm the NASA's leaving us into
the jungle I wonder what's out there these actually
are essential to the forest they weren't this is what keeps their forest green we'll go inside go inside yeah it is so
thick at least we did I saw lots of to move it
over Josh snakes inside remembering our past trouble with cause
we decided to swap cough for a 30-year one having a 4x4 can be a lifesaver in
these terrains so I'm the NASA and I hadn't thought it
would not be as village will be drive to five to six hours to this rocky terrains
it's a remote village inside the mountains of Cenac but it's a village
that's many surprises just one step away from our actual destination but we just
take a break it's actually a stream water all the way from would Olivia
waterfall just gonna have a little bit of nice we head towards good Mobius a
village with picturesque waterfalls to visit the beautiful waterfalls we have
to walk by foot for over two hours through a massive forest on this track
we are guided by Mohammed a local who runs a school in the village where our
first track first half-hour of the long trek to a special place last you get
closer to the destination it gets also much cooler I mean the first half I was
quite hot according to the locals if you dip your hat into the water the top bit
they actually keep you cool it works the deeper we chop inside the more beautiful
the forest guests those local to this region often eat a food called garrison
oh it looks like a fruit piece of fruit squat radish quite soft slimy but inside
some kind of not my palette contains lots of costume it's like popping nut
don't have much of a taste bar very healthy after the long journey we are
finally arrived at our destination and it's nothing short of gorgeous I cannot
wait to get my clothes off I do some wild swimming this is the big surprise
we have finally arrived at the waterfalls it goes beyond my imagination
it was the long track now next step is put my swimming shorts on and take a
swim and enjoy relax hahaha doulas help us go oh oh the water
is cold they get his to revolution jump in but now it's actually nice actually
words the definite words we are they were gonna go up more finally the water
cosmos stayed there as well and it's got she more beautiful but this was
definitely worth it you can really cushy off Kaku the slow oh my god I'm gonna need enough I really
need it out enough I really like I can say you old
man I can actually clear these waterfalls are a hidden gem among the
surrounding trees the water is relatively warm as it cascades
gracefully down from the waterfalls this place has all the right ingredients
to create a tranquil atmosphere to relax and de-stress Phillie refresh we just have to go now
because right doc you have to actually go to the village and then go to add a
gobble I don't think we're gonna make it by
midnight but we actually move fast enough so we just rise back into the village
from the truck we're here with the ashes the maintainer of this place and from
another place man he actually studied in had a gaba which
is one of the biggest 50 attraction of a provincial city of Sinagra and he
basically what he done he went back to his own village which is this village
and he actually created the school and educational eligibility for the young
children of Vienna's quite remarkable I think the best guide though he had so
far he actually went because all the way in what he wants to do all obviously
people are watching this I know many people come here and want to discover
those waterfalls as well and experience what we experienced hopefully what he
wants to do is you want to make a path because it took us literally two hours
to get there but if they make some kind of fatso can easy accessible path easy
for people to actually go there and enjoy the waterfall enjoy the scenery
enjoying the beautiful landscape over there and hope that's actually one of
the main plan so I truly be this is gonna be a main tourist attraction it
should be because seeing this amazing size is a fitting ending as we conclude
our travels to some Island the northern region of Somalia from here we make our
way to southern Somalia where we know that many adventures are awaiting us
having traveled to Djibouti a smile and I think just the beginning I can't wait
is the rest of the Somali financial I reconnecting with my friend from the UK
in her Hargeisa and spending time with Abdinasir in the Sanaag region made this
journey more than remarkable. I've met amazing people along the way,
their mesmerizing and cheerful attitude, the positive outlook on life
made me reflect and be grateful. Reconnecting with my maternal family, my
mother sisters and brothers as well as my first cousin was bliss. An ancient Somali proverb states: 'Nin aan dhul marin, daayo ma leh'. Which literally means a man who hasn't travelled does not have eyes. Meaning that traveling entails new
experiences you
