Somaliland Ep. 2 | Horn of Africa | You're Going Where? Travel Series | Full Documentary HD

Video Statistics and Information

Video
Captions Word Cloud
Reddit Comments
Captions
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
Info
Channel: You're Going Where? African Travel Documentary
Views: 141,714
Rating: undefined out of 5
Keywords: horn of africa, africa, travel, narrative, somalia, somaliland, mogadishu, hargeisa, djibouti, documentary, series, soomaaliya, xamar, puntland, jubbaland, kenya, eritrea, ethiopia, uganda, heeso
Id: qC-5CvzrSSU
Channel Id: undefined
Length: 45min 3sec (2703 seconds)
Published: Wed Jul 17 2019
Related Videos
Note
Please note that this website is currently a work in progress! Lots of interesting data and statistics to come.