Lonely Planet - Africa on the Cheap (1980): Somalia

Somalia

The Somali coast once formed part of the extensive Arab controlled trans-Indian Ocean trading network and its ports of Mogadishu and Brava were part of the East African chain which stretched through Malindi, Mombasa, Zanzibar and Kilwa as far as Sofala in Mozambique. The prosperity of these ports and indeed the trading network itself were largely destroyed by the Portuguese in the early 16th century following the latter’s discovery of a sea route to India and beyond via the Cape of Good Hope. From that time until the 19th century, Somalia lapsed into obscurity being ignored by European traders because of its lack of exploitable resources.

In the 19th century much of the Ogaden Desert ethnically a part of Somalia was annexed by the empire of Ethiopia during Menelik I’s reign. This loss has never been accepted by the Somalis and has not only poisoned Somali-Ethiopian relations for over half a century but has led to war on more than one occasion. Throughout the ’70s Somali guerilla organisations dedicated to recovering the Ogaden were supported by the Somali government and at one point had succeeded in not only throwing back regular Ethiopian Army troops from the desert area but in taking Jijiga and almost capturing Harrar and Dire Dawa the major towns in southern Ethiopia. They were eventually thrown back over the Somali border only with massive Russian and Cuban assistance following Moscow’s switch of allegiance from Mogadishu to Addis Ababa in the wake of Haile Selassie’s overthrow and the Marxist take-over in Ethiopia. Somalia also claims parts of northern Kenya which were detached during the late 19th century by the British though these claims are on a much lower key than those relating to the Ogaden.

At the turn of the century, Somalia was divided between the British, who took the northern part opposite the South Yemen, and the Italians, who took the southern part alongside the Indian Ocean, but the two parts were re-united when independence was gained in 1960. Nine years later a military coup brought the current President, Mohamed Siad Barre, to power on a ticket of radical socialism which has resulted in great changes in Somalian society. The government places great emphasis on self-reliance and the use of team work and many roads, houses, hospitals and agricultural projects have been created by such methods, paralleling similar developments in Maoist China. As a result of the coup which brought Barre to power, the USA withdrew the Peace Corps and in 1970 imposed a trade embargo on the country following news that Somalia was trading with North Vietnam. The USSR immediately stepped into the vacuum with economic and military aid and several years later Somalia’s armed forces became one of the best-equipped and best-trained in the whole continent. The honeymoon, however, came to an end when Russia stepped in to support Mengistu’s Marxist regime in Ethiopia, Somalia’s traditional arch-enemy. The Russians were summarily ordered to leave Somalia in the late ’70s and since then there has been a rapprochement with the west, including even a recent offer of the use of the Soviet-built port facilities at Berbera for the American Navy.

FACTS

Severe droughts are a continuing problem in this part of the world and the one which struck in the mid-70s had a devastating effect on the people living in the Ogaden area and demanded large-scale relocation to more favourable areas. As we go to press another drought is forcing hundreds of thousands of traditionally desert and scrub dwellers to flee to the more fertile coastal plains.

The coastline has some of the longest beaches in the world which are protected from sharks by coral reefs. The climate here is hot and humid while in the mountains and plateau which rise alongside the Ethiopian border it is hot and dry with little vegetation, a sparse population and even sparser rainfall. The people who make up the population of 4½ million are perhaps some of the most beautiful in the world – tall, aquiline features, ebony-black skin, long flowing robes. They are quiet and dignified and tend to ignore strangers although those who have learned to speak English are quite ready to talk unless they are politically suspicious of you. Mogadishu, the capital, is well known for its beautiful, gleaming white, Hamarweyn quarter which goes back centuries and for its Banadir weavers and old mosques.

Very few travellers went to Somalia during the ’70s because of the unpredictable military activities which were taking place there and the difficulty of getting a visa but from the few letters we have received it is well worth the effort and getting easier all the time. The cost of living is low, far lower than in neighbouring Kenya – and you are unlikely to meet any other travellers there. If you get to Kenya, why not make a detour up the coast and experience one of Africa’s previously most inaccessible countries, totally unspoiled by tourism?

VISAS

Required by all. It is now possible to get tourist visas in Nairobi without much hassle. The same applies if you are coming through Djibouti. The borders with Djibouti and Kenya are open but that with Ethiopia closed. You need to apply well in advance for visas since applications still have to be OK’ed in Mogadishu. They are on the expensive side at £8 (US$17) and you need four photos.

CURRENCY

The unit of currency is the Somali Shilling = 100 cents. Import/export of local currency is allowed up to 100 Sh.

Exchange rate:

£1 = 13.30 Sh
US$1 = 5.80 Sh
A$1 = 6.65 Sh

Black market rate in Nairobi is approximately double the official rate. Currency declaration forms are issued on arrival but ignored on departure. Airport tax for international flights is 10 Sh.

LANGUAGES

Somali is the official language. Arabic, Italian and English are also spoken in the cities.

ACCOMMODATION

There are a few hotels as such outside the main cities of Kismayu, Mogadishu, Hargeisa and Berbera but costs are low.

Mogadishu

Savoy Hotel costs 10 Sh for a bed. A taxi from the airport costs 1 Sh.

TRANSPORT

There are very few buses but plenty of trucks. As in other African countries where trucks are the main form of transport, the price of lifts is more or less fixed. You have to have your passport stamped in most of the towns through which you pass or stay in. If you have a camera with you, get permission from people before taking pictures – they are very suspicious of cameras which is not surprising in view of the recent confrontation with Ethiopia.

Arab dhows ply between the ports of South Yemen, Mogadishu, Kismayu and the Kenyan ports of Lamu and Malindi. This is probably the easiest way of getting to Somalia from Kenya.

We regret we have no more details since we have not heard from anyone who has been there for years. Please send us some information if you go there!