We drove on perfect tarmac for about 160 kilometres from Hargeisa to Berbera. We travelled from the high-altitude (1,334 m), inland city of Hargeisa, descending to the coastal town of Berbera. The wide road runs through the Galgodon Highlands and then down to the coast of the Gulf of...
On our way to Berbera, we made a stop and a short off-road drive to Laas Geel, a cave complex famous for ancient rock paintings dating back to the Neolithic period, roughly 9,000 to 3,000 BCE (๐๏ธ35 USD, paid in office in Hargeisa). Other sources suggest a date of around 6,000 years ago...
Today, late afternoon, we drove a few kilometres behind the capital to see the milking of camels. Camels have historically been central to Somali culture, symbolising status and pride. Camel farms in Somaliland, particularly in Hargeisa, are a significant part of the nation’s...
We spent one day in Somaliland’s capital, located in a valley within the Galgodon (Ogo) highlands of northwestern Somaliland, at an elevation of approximately 1,334 meters. Hargeisa’s history began as a watering and trading stop founded by the Isaaq Sultanate in the 19th...
Our first excursion brought us to Borama, located in mountainous terrain at an elevation of 1,467 meters. We drove there on good tarmac through several easy checkpoints. This location, with fertile land close to the Ethiopian border, has created a green environment that stands out against...
After some heavy searching, we finally found Dhagah Kureh, located about 45 kilometres northwest of Hargeisa. It is a significant Neolithic rock art site, known for its extensive ancient paintings that provide insight into the lives of early pastoralist communities. Situated among granite...
For centuries, the church was extremely remote, requiring a long and arduous journey on foot or by mule. We had no mule, so we took a car and drove through villages controlled by the Fano militia to reach the parking area, from which we still had to hike for 30 minutes up a steep path to...
In the morning, we paid a pretty adventurous entrance fee (๐๏ธ 100 USD / 15,000 ETB) to see the Lalibela rock churches. The complex was built in the late 12th and early 13th centuries under King Gebre Meskel Lalibela of the Zagwe dynasty to create a “New Jerusalem” in Ethiopia...
We took a short flight from Gondar to Lalibela due to the situation in the Amhara region, where the ethno-nationalist Amhara Fano militia controls the road between the two cities. Before it was known as Lalibela, the town was called Roha (or Warwar) and served as the capital of the Zagwe...
The whole afternoon, we spent at Gondar Castle, or the Fasil Ghebbi, a fortified royal enclosure built in the 17th century (๐๏ธ1,000 ETB). Before 1636, Ethiopian rulers used nomadic, mobile capitals. Emperor Fasilides settled in Gondar, a previously obscure village, establishing it as the...