Mogadishu, Somalia

The city of Mogadishu is the capital of Somalia, an African nation located on the northeastern Indian Ocean coastline of the continent. Mogadishu is Somalia's largest city, and has served as an important seaport in the region for hundreds of years. In ancient Africa, Mogadishu was a rich and powerful land favored with fertile soil and a busy trade with other cities in the region. Modern-day Mogadishu, however, was devastated by the civil war that began raging in Somalia in 1991 and has been in a lengthy process of revitalization.

Landscape

Mogadishu is part of the coastal region of Benadir. It is situated near the point where the Shabelle River changes its course and curves to become parallel to the coast and continues southward. Shabelle means "leopard" in the Somali language; the river, which is one of two that run through Somalia, has its source in the highlands of Ethiopia.

The climate in Mogadishu is generally hot and arid, with two rainy seasons (April to June, and October to November). Mogadishu's location near the curve of the river helps to protect it from the droughts that often plague other areas of the country and also ensures that its soil is well watered and suitable for agriculture. In addition, the city's proximity to the river suggests an explanation for its early success as a trading port, since people from the interior of the country routinely used the river valley as a route by which to travel to the coast. Mogadishu is surrounded by dunes that are scattered between the Indian Ocean and the banks of the river.

The city is composed of three major areas: a historic center, composed of ancient stone houses and shops clustered around narrow streets; a belt of European-designed buildings surrounding the historic city (this region sprung up during the late nineteenth century when Mogadishu was colonized by the Italians); and an outer ring of loosely organized villages and settlements, the result of Mogadishu's rapid urban expansion during the twentieth century.

In the 1920s and 1930s, the Italian government began planning a series of urban initiatives intended to organize and regulate the city's growth; part of this activity included the development of a system of streets laid out in a grid. Modern Mogadishu is divided into sixteen city districts. Roads lead from Mogadishu into Kenya and Ethiopia, and there is an international airport located outside the city.

People

In 2023, according to the US Central Intelligence Agency, the population of the urban area of Mogadishu was approximately 2.610 million people. However, because of the lengthy unrest within the city and the large number of nomadic peoples in the country, in addition to the movement of people displaced by conflict and drought, it has been difficult to take an accurate census of Mogadishu's population.

The languages spoken in Mogadishu include Swahili, some Arabic dialects, and a number of Somali dialects (most prominently the variant known as Coastal Somali).

Although Mogadishu's residents include a small group of individuals with varied ethnic backgrounds, such as people of Arab, Persian, Indian, and European descent, the majority of the city's population are ethnic Somalis. Most of these are Sunni Muslims who identify as the descendants of a single ancient founding father, Samaal (from whom the country's name is derived). Within this population, however, groups of people are divided into six major "clan-families," membership in which is passed down through the paternal line. It is the strong allegiance of Somalis to their particular clan-families, as well as the sometimes intense rivalries within and between clans, that forms the basic structure of the Somali society and has helped lead up to its bitter civil conflict.

Food in Mogadishu is simple, but very rich in protein. A typical meal in Mogadishu might consist of meat, such as lamb or goat, cooked with a grain like rice or eaten with a homemade flat bread. Milk, fruit (especially bananas) and cereal are other important components of a traditional Somali diet.

Economy

Traditionally, the Mogadishu economy has been based largely on the export of agricultural products such as fruit, sugarcane, and corn, livestock, and animal products (such as hides). Mogadishu also served as a port of exchange where products from inland Somalia were distributed to other countries. In addition, Mogadishu was once home to a few flourishing industries, including treatment plants that processed food, beverages, textiles, and oil.

However, Mogadishu's economy was all but destroyed by the years of violent fighting that have taken place in the city between rival clan factions and, in the early twenty-first century, between Islamist insurgent forces and the country's interim government (aided by African Union and Ethiopian allied troops) as well as the internationally recognized government established in 2012. Most of the city's industries could not hope to continue functioning normally in the midst of this chaos, and many resources have gone toward efforts at rebuilding and stabilization since control of the city was taken back from the Islamist militant group al-Shabaab in 2011 and the the federal government was formed (though threats remained and attacks on the city continued). At the same time, some sections of the economy, like telecommunications, have grown since the start of the unrest because of the lack of government regulation and taxation of businesses, and the city's economy was showing signs of improvement by 2019. The national economy grew at a robust pace of 7.46 percent in 2019, and still showed signs of healthy growth in 2021 with a 4 percent growth rate. Gas stations were reopened, new banks set up headquarters, and the international airport was modernized and furbished with a new terminal. Many Somalis were also returning from abroad, and they helped further increase investment in the fragile economy.

In October 2007, Mogadishu suffered a particularly devastating blow when a severe fire raged through the city and burned down a large part of Bakara market, the city's major marketplace and the location of most of its local trade and business transactions. In the years leading up to the fire, vendors had begun to trade arms in addition to the food and electronic products typically found in the market.

In 2011, East Africa was affected by a devastating drought, which caused a severe food crises and famine throughout the region, including within Somalia. Somali farmers were particularly affected.

Landmarks

The architecture in Mogadishu reflects a mixture of Islamic, African, and Mediterranean influences. Some of the structures in the historic city center, which goes by the name Hammawein (or sometimes Xamar Weyne), were constructed out of coral, an unusual building material that is no longer common but used to be valued for its strength. A great number of Mogadishu's buildings were either destroyed or damaged by the events of the civil war. The city was once home to numerous mosques and municipal office buildings that were put up during the Italian occupation. As part of revitilization efforts beginning after the expulsion of al-Shabaab in 2011, new buildings have been erected while others have been rebuilt. A popular park was constructed that includes a playground, football fields, and coffee shops.

The city's Fakhr al-Din Mosque, with its tall domed ceiling, was erected at the end of the thirteenth century by the city's first sultan. The mosque is Mogadishu's oldest structure. The centrally located Arba-Rucun Mosque (the Mosque of the Four Pillars) and a cathedral constructed by the Italians stand side by side by the water. The city was also home to the Somali National Museum and the Somali National University, which was destroyed by fighting and replaced with the new Mogadishu University in 1997. Located beyond the city's borders are two protected areas, the Alifuuto Nature Reserve and the Bushbush Game Reserve.

History

Ancient Somalia was visited by merchant travelers from as far away as China and Greece; it was famous for its fragrant gum trees and its animals. The earliest accounts of settlers in Mogadishu date back to the tenth century, when Muslims from the Arab Peninsula migrated into Somalia and set up trading centers along the coast. Mogadishu became an important seaport that handled the transfer of goods from other parts of Africa, India, and Arab lands. Three hundred years after its founding, the city was the major center for the gold trade in the region.

In the late fifteenth century and early sixteenth century, Mogadishu's port suffered attacks by troops of Portuguese invaders, including Vasco de Gama. In addition, the Muslim city, like the rest of Somalia, participated in various religious wars with neighboring Ethiopia—which was largely Christian. Over the next few centuries, Mogadishu fell under the control of foreign sultanates from places like Oman and Zanzibar.

In the final years of the nineteenth century, Mogadishu was occupied by Italian forces (other parts of Somalia were captured by the French, the British, the Ethiopians, and the Kenyans). It was declared the capital of "Italian Somaliland." During World War II, British forces took over Italian Somaliland and retained control over Mogadishu until 1950. In that year, the UN declared the region a protected territory that would be governed by Italy until 1956.

In 1956, Somalia, as it was now known, was granted internal autonomy; in 1960 the former colony became a fully independent nation known as the United Republic of Somalia. The country's early history was not calm, however, as its new government had to deal with the fact that the northern and southern parts of Somalia did not feel they had a common national identity. At the same time, there was pressure from certain factions of the population that wished to see Somalia take over surrounding territories that had been given to Kenya, France, and Ethiopia. Somalia entered into an armed conflict with both Ethiopia and Kenya, but these hostilities ceased in 1967.

In 1969, President Abd-i-rashid Ali Shermarke was assassinated and the Somali government was taken over by a revolutionary group. The leader of the group, a socialist dictator known as Major General Mohammed Siad Barre, changed the name of the country to the Somali Democratic Republic. Barre led the country into another war with Ethiopia, which ended with the defeat of Somalia and the prolonged existence of guerrilla warfare in a disputed area known as Ogaden until 1988.

In 1991, nationalist forces stripped Barre of his seat, an event which toppled the balance of power in the country and triggered a civil war between rival factions of insurgents. International troops from the United Nations, the United States, and several other countries entered Somalia in an attempt to restore peace, but their efforts failed and by the mid-1990s most foreign forces had left. The country continued to be racked by civil conflict and suffered severe flooding in 1997.

In 2000, a transitional government, consisting of a president and a national assembly, was established in Somalia by Somalis who had met in Djibouti to discuss their nation's situation and elect interim leadership. This government, opposed by many militia groups, had little authority. In 2006, it lost power to a coalition of Islamic militants known as the Islamic Courts Union, but regained its position with the help of the Ethiopian army.

In 2012, the International Maritime Bureau reported that the offshore waters in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean are regions of significant risk for piracy. Modern piracy is often equated with the Somali pirates who are known for highjacking and robbing ships and often kidnapping ships' captains and crew members. Armed robbery against ships in these waters accounted for 25 percent of all attacks in 2012 with 75 vessels attacked or highjacked, which was a dramatic reduction from the 237 vessels attacked in 2011. The number of highjackings directly off the coast of Somalia in 2012 was 14, which was down from 28 in 2011. As of April 2013, 77 vessels were being held for ransom by Somali pirates. In large part due to efforts made by an international naval task force, the incidents of piracy off of the coast of Somalia were significantly reduced for a number of years, but began to increase in 2023 and 2024.

Since an internationally backed government was put in place in Somalia in 2012, cities such as Mogadishu have slowly attempted to rebuild and stabilize, including focusing on improving education and urban renewal projects. At the same time, insurgent attacks (al-Shabaab is considered the main perpetrator) have occurred within Mogadishu, including vehicle bombings that left hundreds dead in 2017 and an attack on a hotel in 2018 that killed around fifty.

Bibliography

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