Mogadishu, Somalia

Mogadishu is the capital and largest city in Somalia. Popularly called Xamar, it is today a city of two million people (2012 estimate). Mogadishu faces the Indian Ocean. It is in the Benadir coastal region of Somalia.

Human habitation in the Mogadishu area goes back to the times of hunter-gatherers. By the 8th or 9th century AD, Arab and Persian traders passed by the area, some of which settling there. The migration of Emozeidi Arabs led to the founding of the Sultanate of Mogadishu in the 10th century.

The Arab explorer Ibn Battuta arrived on the Somali coast in 1331. At that time, Mogadishu was already a developed and prosperous city that attracted merchants from all over. The city produced high-quality fabric which is exported by traders to all over the region. Mogadishu came under the control of Italy from 1892. The Italians builts much of the historic buildings in the city, many of which dating to the 1930s.

Civil war rocked Mogadishu in 1990 when rebel forces captured the city and forced the president to flee. The United Nations sent a peacekeeping force under Operation Restore Hope in 1992, but tension escalated when warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid attacked the Pakistani peacekeeping troops, killing 24 soldiers.

In response, the United States sent a contingent of special operations forces to capture or kill Aidid and dismantle his hold on power. But this only resulted in further clash between the peacekeeping troops and the Somali. Anarchy reigned in Mogadishu until 2006, when Islamists and local businessmen managed to form a coalition government known as the Islamic Courts Union or ICU. The ICU seized control of the whole country apart from the town of Baidoa, but was eventually ousted by the Ethiopian military. Eventually the internationally-recognized government, which had been in exile in Kenya, was restored in Somalia.

Even today (May 2012), the situation on the ground in Mogadishu remains volatile. Sporadic violence and suicide bomb attacks continue to flare regularly.

Mogadishu, Somalia
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:K-4_Circle_outside_of_the_Bangladesh_Army_compound.JPEG
Author: PV2 Andrew W. McGalliard

Visiting Mogadishu

Mogadishu is still an extremely dangerous destination. Casual visitors are strongly discouraged from making a trip there until the situation improves.

The Aden Adde International Airport (MGQ)), formerly called the Mogadishu International Airport reserves Mogadishu. This modest-sized airport receives flights from Abu Dhabi, Aden, Berbera, Bosaso, Dubai, Galkayo, Hargeisa, Istanbul, Jeddah, Nairobi, Sharjah and Wajir.

Places of Interest in Mogadishu

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