Somalia

ADEN ADDE AIRPORT 
While in Kenya I decided to commit to three days in Somalia using Visit Mogadishu Tours - something I’d planned to do in 2020 but had to cancel due to Covid-19.  The tour company arranged my visa invitation and told me to arrive at Aden Adde airport and get my visa at immigration. It was pretty simple, the only confusing part was finding the yellow application form in the arrivals hall. I was pretty much the last person processed out of the 40-50 people on my flight flight from Nairobi, most of which were Somali citizens. The cool thing about the arrivals area was I could see the guys from the tour company on the other side of immigration waiting for me.  The one page visa sticker, with photo included, cost $60 for a single entry ($42 for the visa plus an $18 service charge). 

Mohamed & Ali (yes, that’s correct) met me on the other side of immigration and quickly we were outside and seated in the car I was to spend the next three days in - a bullet proof Toyota Hilux with a dedicated driver and two armed security guards on the back bed. There were a few checkpoints within and immediately outside the airport; each with multiple armed security personal, huge concrete bollards and heavy gates.  

HOTEL SAHAFI
Hotel Sahafi is about 2km from the airport on a short back street with a security checkpoint at both ends and another security detail protecting the main gate into the hotel compound. The guys did a great job explaining what to expect during my stay - don’t get out of the car until given the all clear, no pictures of any security checkpoints or government buildings, expect to hear gunfire occasionally and under no circumstances leave the hotel compound on my own. 

Inside the Hotel Sahafi and the Toyota Hilux

The hotel is somewhat cavernous with a huge outdoor courtyard and restaurant, empty rooftop terrace and about 80 rooms of different shapes and sizes. The first room they put me in didn’t have a window so after a brief nap I was quickly moved to another smaller, easier to find room with a television stuck on one channel playing repeats of Indian soap operas overdubbed in English. Lunch at the restaurant was really good fish, rice and vegetables with coke to drink - no alcohol in Somalia.  I met the third member of the tour company, Omar, and paid the remaining balance of the tour in US $100 notes; One was slightly ripped so he said he may have to get me to use different one because the bank may not accept it.  He was right so before I left I gave him some twenties instead as that was the last of my hundreds.  In Africa, crisp new notes are a must - my bad for not checking before I left.

FIRST OUTING
After lunch was my first experience out and about in Mogadishu. The driver (cannot remember his name) is well accustomed to navigating the streets and stopping at the required checkpoints. He worked for Mohammed Farrah Aidid for a few months in the 1990's, driving him across the country numerous times to various locations, including over the border into Kenya. Aidid was the central target by the Americans in the Battle of Mogadishu (1993) - depicted in the movie Black Hawk Down. More to come on that tomorrow.

Mohamed, myself, the driver and two armed guards stayed fairly close to the hotel but visited a souvenir shop (the only one I saw during my stay), the Beerta Nabadda Peace Park (a popular wedding location), Mogadishu Mall (mainly empty but pristine clean indoor mall), and an excellent coffee shop called Home Bakery with great coffee and a wide selection of freshly baked cakes and pastries.  Mohamed made a few calls and before long we met a friend of his who works at a building not far from the bakery.  On the way we walked through some of the side streets and bought some fruit. I was asked more than once if I was Turkish. The Turks provided humanitarian aid in 2011 when the West largely ignored Somalia so there are a lot of Turkish nationals in Somalia. Erdogan's so called "Turkish Model" combined democratic governance and Islamic values with ambitious development plans aimed to neutralize western intervention.  Turkey rebuilt the international airport in Mogadishu, built it's largest overseas embassy on the shores of the Indian Ocean and a huge military base to the south of Somalia's capital.  Turkish is now widely observed as the second language of Somalia.

The building Mohamed took me to was a half completed, largely empty apartment complex where we went to the rooftop to get fantastic views of the city, beachfront and ocean.  After many photos and noting historic landmarks for tomorrows agenda, we headed to another great coffee shop, 5 Gen Cafe, for the last coffee of the day. It was located within the compound of another hotel where by chance I bumped into one of the people on my flight from Kenya yesterday.  We were both taking selfies on the tarmac in Nairobi before boarding and after landing in Mogadishu which is how we recognized each other.

SECOND OUTING
The second excursion away from the hotel was my favorite day in Somalia. Not saying the rest of my time here was not great, but today was something special and it started somewhere that didn't promise much. Expectations were low as we approached the Xamar-Weyne Fish Market near the medieval mosque on a rocky point jutting into the Indian Ocean. As I stepped out of the truck I couldn't help but think, 'the Seychelles are out there somewhere, what am I doing here?'.  I visited the huge fish market in Mwanza, Tanzania last year so by comparison this one was tiny but there was a staggering array of fish and lots of sharks. Moreover the fish mongers were happy for me to take photographs and pose with some of the big fish, including the sharks. The stench was terrible but for some reason I've always had a fascination with fish markets and, if you can get over the smell, there's some great sights and sounds to experience.  We spent about an hour at the market and wandering around the rocks behind the mosque taking photographs and making short videos for the tour website.  I made a few 20 second vignettes about how much I loved Somalia and how safe Mogadishu is - while the armed guards stayed conspicuously out of sight.  They didn't want to be photographed.  Not yet anyway.

Great white shark at the Fish Market

Around the corner from the fish market, we stop and find a man selling a giant turtle shell. Some words are exchanged, a small bribe too, and he ushers us behind some old tires and other junk to find a half dozen giant turtles, still alive, on their backs clinging on to dear life. I wasn't expecting it and not really what I wanted to see but there was nothing I could do about it. Time to move on to the curiously named Second Lido Beach.

The rocks behind the fish market

Past a few more derelict buildings then through a small alley leading to stairs down to the beach I set my eyes on the old Italian Lighthouse for the first time. It's a gloriously dilapidated building, no longer in service and I start taking photos almost immediately after I get the all clear to do so.  But down on the beach there are people yelling at me and I'm aware that there are lots of eyes directed towards me. Mohamed and Ali are both with me today so Ali tells me to hold tight while he heads towards the beach.  It's very crowded. Lots of people milling about doing not much at all, some people tending to boats, kids playing soccer but it becomes very apparent that people know I'm there and are a little uneasy. I'm uneasy too, wondering if my two armed guards are enough or even if they're even on my side. Ali comes back and things seem to have calmed down a little. He's found the 'Lighthouse Keeper', paid another small bribe and now we're okay to continue down to the beach.  

Second Lido Beach

Second Lido Beach is hard to describe - Google Maps says "Beach surrounded by ruined buildings." In truth the beach is also ruined; a dumping ground cleaned only by the rising tide but rewind to the 1950's, this was the highlight of Italian Somalia. It's a shame to see it so neglected today but for me it was the highlight of the trip.  I took a lot of photos here, played soccer on the beach and helped push a boat out across the sand.  Around the base of the lighthouse the rocks were covered in algae which made for a wonderful contrast of green against the blue sky and brown sand.  I never quite felt comfortable there though - I felt many sets of eyes on me at all times. Most friendly but others I couldn't quite tell.

The Italian Lighthouse on Second Lido Beach

The Battle of Mogadishu, known as the Day of the Rangers to Somalis, was fought October 3-4, 1993 between the US and Somali militia loyal to Mohamed Farrah Aidid. The movie Black Hawk Down was based on the events that unfolded during the botched attempt to capture Aidid.  He was never caught, 19 American soldiers were killed along with anywhere between 300 - 2,000 Somalis. Two  Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters were shot down and in the aftermath dead American soldiers were dragged through the streets by Somalis. This had a massive impact on US foreign policy in the region with a reluctance to interfere any further in Somalia and a blind eye turned to the genocide in Rwanda six months later.  The helicopters are long gone but at least two American tanks remain where they were abandoned near the Bakaara Market.  We drove to the first crash site site (not much to see these days) and saw the two tanks but there was no getting out of the car at any point.  The area around the market is not governed or administered in any way. There are no police, no law enforcement, no checkpoints, no real semblance of any type of organization or order.  The paved roads that are not severely potholed are either flooded, covered with debris or congested with goats, dogs, chickens and whatever else.  The dirt roads were even worse - some impassable except by motorbike. It was not a place to dwell for too long.

Next stop, the original Lido Beach, on our way passing the Arch of Umberto, a smaller Italian version of the Arch de Triomphe named after the King of Italy (1878-1900), and the 15th century Almnara Tower - both stops confined to the truck because of security fears.  Lido Beach is much busier than Second - more people, more games of soccer, hugely expansive and seemingly much safer.  Unlike Second Beach, some buildings are still in use and its in one of them that we stop for a delicious seafood lunch with an unparalleled view of the beach and ocean.  We're the only guests at the restaurant. Not far away is the Elite Hotel, bombed by Al Shabab about a year earlier but now restored to some version of its former glory.  After lunch is a boat trip along the coast to see the sights from a different angle and marvel at the masses of people in the water avoiding the boats and jumping the waves. A quick stop at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier for photographs is followed by a long stop at the Heritage Hotel for coffee and cake.

THIRD OUTING
The last full day in Somalia revolved around a hospital visit, a trip to the bank and day out at the beach. After another huge breakfast at the hotel I was taken around the corner to a small clinic for my mandatory Covid test so that I could board my flight the next day back to Kenya. The test itself was uneventful and cost $25 but the lingering thought in my head was what would I do if the test came back positive for Covid - I'd be stranded in Somalia of all places. Don't get me wrong I was happy to be here but this was no place to dwell for very long.  Thankfully the test came back negative so the path was clear for me to get back to the 'relative safety' of downtown Nairobi tomorrow.

Calling the next stop a bank would be stretching it a little bit - it was more like a small shop with a large safe in the center. The US dollar is accepted pretty much anywhere a tourist needs to go in this country. Apart from the payment to the tour company in cash, the only time I actually bought anything was on the first day when I found some old Italian era banknotes in the souvenir shop.  Everything else was paid for electronically by Mohamed and I paid him back in cash at the end of my stay. The only legal tender Somali Shilling banknotes are in denominations of 1,000 which is the equivalent of about 5 cents.  Part of the appeal of coming to the 'bank' is so that you can sit there in a chair beside the safe while they pile stacks of cash three feet high worth a mere few hundred dollars. Most of the banknotes have passed through thousands of pairs of hands, are torn, oily, filthy.  Sanitizer is required after handling but the experience was funny.  We stop at a couple of camel markets on route to the beach to pick up milk and take pictures.

Camel Market: My Wesley Snipes lookalike bodyguard

Jazeera Beach is about 12 miles (20 km) south of the southern most part of Mogadishu where the airport is located but the drive takes over an hour. Some of the route is paved but most is dirt or sand and a lot of it is severely potholed. Omar is along for the ride today and he's brought his drone to make more videos for their website. The beach is nice and there's an island close enough to wade to while the tide was out.  It's very picturesque and well worth the trip.

Jazeera Beach

BACK TO KENYA
Mohamed accompanied me back to the airport, through about half a dozen different check points before finally making it to the terminal.   When I landed, I got the Somali visa in my NZ passport.  The visa for Kenya was in my US passport. This caused a problem at immigration and I was taken aside while they figured out what to do with me.  I should have used my US passport both visas but I wasn't thinking clearly when I landed here three days ago.  After about 20 minutes it all seemed to get sorted out with plenty of help from Mohamed who was keen to make sure I got away okay.

Somalia is the most dangerous place I've been to up until now but the tour company really did a great job at making me feel safe. They didn't cut any corners. They didn't try to shake me down for any additional services. They were genuinely interested in making sure my trip was comfortable. 

SOMALI PROVERB
The world is like a shadow; in the morning it is turned towards one direction, in the evening towards the opposite one. (i.e., things change)