People of Somaliland
People.
The other side of traveling.
No monuments, no museums, no gardens or palaces. To really get to know a country, you have to interact with its people.
Photography always kept my attention and I got my first SRL camera when I was 16 years old. During my Visual Arts studies at University, I decided to engage myself in a photo project to last for a few years.
During many years, my main purpose of traveling was to capture images of people. On this page, I collect some of the best photos I have from Somaliland.
Photos of People from Somaliland
People of Somaliland are very friendly and curious to know where visitors come from.
Somaliland is a self-proclaimed country that technically, and according to the United Nations, is located in the most northwestern region of Somalia.
Hargeisa is the capital of the self-proclaimed country of Somaliland. Hargeisa is a city full of lively streets, a bit dusty, and where Islamic sharia law prevails due to people having strong Muslim beliefs.
One of the things that is worth visiting in Hargeisa is the cattle market, where they sell goats, camels and cows. At the entrance of the market, on the right side, you can see the camels (dromedaries). Each of these animals can cost up to 1730 euros / 2000 dollars. Cows can cost up to 433 euros / 500 dollars.
Although it’s not internationally recognized by the UN, it has protected and delimited land borders, its own military, its own president, its own currency, its own police. And it also proudly holds democratic elections since 1991.
Berbera was once a very important city with an excellent cultural and economic development. Then, there was the war and the city became almost completely destroyed.
Somaliland borders Ethiopia, Djibouti and another region of Somalia called Land of Punt, or Puntland, famous for having over 400 people kidnapped and held captive by pirates in the Gulf of Aden.
Berbera is the second most important city in Somaliland, located on the Gulf of Aden. In the center of Berbera, we can find several destroyed buildings, the fishing port, a few ancient mosques, the market area and some abandoned old sunk boats on the beach near the port.
Laas Geel consists of breathtaking outdoor rock paintings located 50km / 31mi from the city of Hargeisa, in Somaliland. In Laas Geel there are several murals with man-made paintings with over 9000 years old. Humans, dogs, giraffes, cows are portrayed with muddy colors.
