Categories
Somalia and Eritrea

Reflections

At the end of my week here I reflect on what was it like travelling through Somaliland. Did I feel safe here? Well, yes and no. Armed guards always tip the odds in your favour of course. I felt safe in the capitol, Hargeisa, much less so in the rural back blocks of Berbera where there was a distinctly hostile xenophobic vibe.
Overall the country is quite barren and dry and the cities and towns are pretty basic African meets Middle East affairs, poor and run down. Infrastructure is basic but there are some impressive buildings built with foreign aid. Education and health care all costs the Somali money with no real government subsidy.
For the tourists, hotels could best be described as spartan. Service everywhere happens at snails pace. Somali cuisine is unspectacular consisting of spice rubbed grilled meat, fish and rice. Interetingly the influence is Middle Eastern with quite a hit of cardamom as a spice.Of course there is no alcohol.
Infrastructre wise this is a newly developed country having to rebuild after most buidings having been razed by war and then rebuilt. All is low rise here. The roads even in the heart of town are geerally dirt and potholed and the traffic is frequently at a standstill.
Most of people are genuinely friendly and interested in the,for them, stange sight of white skinned humans in their midst.Having said that there are a few who go out of their way to be difficult. THe females in our group where sometimes chided for some perceived breach of the local dress codes despite them covering up and wearing hijabs. Similarly, as I have experienced in other Muslim societies photography can be a real issue. There are frequent times when after having a chat with someone I ask if I can photograph them or their wares, Having gained their permisiion there is always some unrelated (usually male) bystander who tries to come over the top bullying both me and the pliant local preventing the photograph. At its worst here in the market a young lady engaged me and took me through the meat hall to her families stand. I made small talk with the man running that counter and eventually asked if I could take a picture of his meat stand (excluding both him and the girl who had moved to one side. I had no sooner finished the photo when I saw out of the corner of my eye a guy from a stall further up and well away yelling and brandishing a butcher’s knife threatening to throw it at me. Scary stuff and I high tailed it out of there.

04
This was an interesting trip to an area that is shunned by tourists due to decades of ongoing civil war.While it is bereft of any “big ticket” natural attractions. It affords an interesting insight of a resourceful and resilient populace determined to carve out a modern coherent society rebuilding from the devastation of war. These people are proudly succeeding.

Samosa seller
Samosa seller

02

Meat market, freshly slaughtered no refrigeration, teeming with flies
Meat market, freshly slaughtered no refrigeration, teeming with flies
Salt seller
Salt seller
Spice stall
Spice stall

07

Dentist signage
Dentist signage
Our bus
Our bus
Gazelle at our lunch stop
Gazelle at our lunch stop
Monkey at the market
Monkey at the market
Categories
Somalia and Eritrea

Deluge

It is close to midnight and the teeming rain hammers our corrugated roof. I have never experienced rain like it! Despite this hotel being particularly downmarket we do have aircon that actually works until a massive clap of thunder and all power is lost until the next day. Fortunately the storm means that our overnight low is only mid 20s rather than the more usual 30 for this time of year. Nonetheless it was a hot and sweaty night’s sleep.This place gets only 5-8 days rain per year and we have experienced 2 of them already. The rest of the time it is dry and searingly hot.
This morning it is still raining heavily and many of the streets here are underwater.

06

 

There is no prospect of going on our boat ride so we head for the hills to a village called Sheikh. It is a scenic 2 hour drive up there on a winding hairpin bend road. The view from the top back to Berbera on the coast was beatiful despite the clouds. The highlight here was the remains of the British garrison built in 1901 and decommissioned in 1941.

01 02 03
Berbera itself is the only sheltered deep water harbour on the Gulf of Aden. In ancient times it traded spices, food, Frankincense and Myrrh with Egypt and Yemen. In medieval times it was part of the slave trade. During British colonial times it was the capitol of what was then British Somaliland. In modern times it has been a militarily strategic port successively for UK, Italy, USSR and USA.Today it is also the major trading port for Somaliland and neighbouring Ethiopia.
For a city with such a proud and long history all I have to say is that it is pretty bloody awful now. There are tantalising glimpses of old Arabic and colonial architecture but it is all terribly run down. Everywhere there are shells of buildings that look like they have been bombed but they have just fallen apart as there was never any significant fighting here. It is dilapidated and dirty and in this place the demeanour of the locals matches that of the place.

07 08 09 10 11 13 14

04

Harbourside
Harbourside

The women on the tour here have experienced the most hassles in Berbera. Respectful attempts at photography through consent are met with hostility. We have seen 2 ugly street brawls between locals. Even photographing local buildings elicits an angry rebuke from the locals. Late in the afternoon our bus stops for us to take photos of the outside of a mosque. A maniac on the roof hurls abuse and a large stone at us which lands a couple of feet in front of me. This is an environment hostile towards us, unlike in Hargeisa I would not dream of wandering in the streets without our armed guard here.

The offending mosque
The offending mosque

I will be happy to head back to Hargeisa tomorrow.

Categories
Somalia and Eritrea

Rain

I awaken to grey sky and rain, not quite what I expected for the horn of Africa. The forecast is for a class 1 tropical storm. We leave Hargeisa after breakfast for the 3 hour drive to the coastal port city of Berbera. Overnight rains have transformed dips in the road into river crossings that our tough, colourful bus negotiates with ease. Halfway along we turn left onto a dirt 4 WD track that tests our driver and vehicle a bit more but both pass with ease.
Our destination is Laas Geel caves. Situated in the middle of nowhere this stunning collection of rock art was only discovered by archaeologists in 2002. Dated to between 5000 and 9000 years ago it features some of the most vibrant rock art that I have ever seen. The dominant theme and the most beautiful feature cattle but there is man, giraffe and wolves here. A short but steep climb takes me to the first of 6 caves. These are not fully enclosed caves rather crevices in the rock much like the aboriginal paintings in northern Australia. They have not undergone restoration so the colours and clarity are all the more impressive. Worryingly, because of the history of war and the fact that Somaliland is a self proclaimed but not recognised independent state, it has no UNESCO world heritage protection. the For an archaeology enthusiast like me this was easily the highlight of my trip here.

Site of Las Geel caves
Site of Las Geel caves
Bull with human underneath. Note the elaborate neck decoration
Bull with human underneath. Note the elaborate neck decoration
Cow notice the non anatomical position of the udders
Cow notice the non anatomical position of the udders
Again bull with man underneath
Again bull with man underneath
Giraffe, less impressive but still very clearly visible
Giraffe, less impressive but still very clearly visible
Cow grazing, man beneath
Cow grazing, man beneath
Cattle mating
Cattle mating
Herd of bulls
Herd of bulls

Our drive onward to Berbera was marred by getting bogged in the soft sand and having to dig and push the bus out.

32828728_10156476251819374_4166679010870296576_n

 

At Berbera leaden clouds and rain force a cancellation of our planned beach afternoon.

09

Categories
Somalia and Eritrea

Markets

I hear the unmistakable braying snort of camel and the scuffle of hooves. I run to the dusty source of the commotion, two camels fighting. One is frothing profusely at the mouth and he is the aggressor. As I arrive the cameleers rain down blows from their batons but the camels seem to be oblivious. I take pictures but the thought crosses my mind that there is an element of cruelty in the unfolding scene.

01 02 03 04
Markets are the best way to really get a feel for any culture but more so in the developing world. At this unusual market a buyer with a keen eye and haggling powers can pick up a camel for the princely sum of $1200. A goat, by contrast is an absolute steal at $70 US.

 

06 07

This daily market happens on the outskirts of Hargeisa and just as with the market last night, affords a fascinating glimpse of the Somali lifestyle. Not only that there is also the opportunity to photograph one of nature’s more whimsical creations, the camel.

08 09 10 11

As it is the first day of Ramadan here the lunch options are few and far between and it is back to our hotel for a lunch away frome the fasting populace.
The afternoon excursion to a nomad village near the Ethiopian border fizzled as the old matriarch of the encampment gives us a frosty reception and refuses to show us around. To fill the gap our guide takes us to a plane parked in the middle of a paddock that is being converted to a restaurant. It is also closed. A random “cold call” to a nearby orphanage yielded a better welcome.

121314

Categories
Somalia and Eritrea

Hargeisa

First impressions here are underwhelming. This is the capitol city of the yet to be recognised breakaway state of Somaliland. The drive in is along dusty potholed streets. The squat buildings are shabby in a way that is downmarket even by African standards. It is the back story, though, that inspires. After decades of civil war this city was practically obliterated. All that I see has been built in the last 17 years and this is now a city of 1 million people. In that time they have also managed to create a stable government and society which for all its faults speaks volumes for the resilience of these proud people. The vibe is upbeat and as this place literally only sees a handful of tourists annually we are feted as celebrities by the locals.
Our morning is spent seeing the tiny and basic museum and cultural centre.

01

Cultural centre
Cultural centre

 

The afternoon has us bush bashing in our bus to get as close as possible to the twin hills just outside Hargeisa that look like and are locally known as woman’s breasts (Naaso Hablood).

03040506
The best of the day, though was in the late afternoon myself and two others going out independently into the massive market in the heart of town and experiencing the chaos, colour, sounds and smells of this vital establishment. This is the form of travelling that sees me in my element.

0807

Categories
Somalia and Eritrea

Somaliland

The horn of Africa has a varied colonial history. Strategically the main game here is access to the Red Sea and Pacific Ocean and the countries here were valued as conduits for trade from the landlocked African countries to the outside world. Italy, France and Britain were all actively staking their claims here throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries with Italy, interestingly being the most active. In 1960 British Somaliland (which is where I am going) became independent and joined with the Italian Somaliland to form the Somali Republic, a decision that they almost immediately regretted and have been trying to reverse to this day. Indeed French Somaliland also joined in but have subsequently broken away to become the tiny independent country of Djibouti. Decades of dictatorship followed by a breakdown in any meaningful government in Mogadishu has left British Somaliland in political limbo.
They have responded by building a completely separate state within a state. They have their own government, armed forces, police force, currency, hospitals and schools. They have their own separarte visa and do not accept Somali visas. They have applied for admission into the UN as a stand alone independent country. Unfortunately they have not been accepted. It is into this country that I am going into. There is said to be no terrorist threat here and I am on an organised tour group suitable reassured by the presence of a gun carrying guard!

01 Hargeisa 02 Hargeisa 03 Hargeisa 04 Hargeisa

Categories
Dubai

Dubai again

I have become complacent with my travel. Despite good advice to the contrary I schedule 2 4 am flights in a row to get me here. It is now midnight and pretty much 48 hours since I have been in a bed and I still have the second of my 4 am flights to come. I arrive at the airport in Dubai just after 10pm and preset my phone alarm for 1 am. I settle into the uncomfortable seat wrap the back pack straps firmly around 1 arm and the other around 1 leg and drift off to sleep. I jolt upright and awake initially disorientated and then recognise a familiar scene before me. It is midnight now and where there was empty space is filled with the usual check in queue for any Ethiopian Airlines flights. Lots of Ethioipian “big mamas” with masses of bags and consumer item boxes that they are taking home. I have travelled lot but the Ethiopian checkins are always enough to sink a Hercules aircraft! Luckily I have checked in on line and move to another,completely empty queue. The guy checking me in gives me the third degree about what I am going to Somalia for but eventually I get in and the marathon sequence of unsociable international flights and hours in airports seem almost at an end. I scheduled in a trip back to the 148th floor of the Burj Khalifi, formerly the tallest building in the world. This time over sunset and was stymied by hazy skies concealing the sunset. I did, though, get some nice pictures of Dubai at night but I have come away with the sense that there is nothing more here that would draw me back.

01 Burj Khalifa05 Burj03 Burj04 Burj02 Burj

Categories
Somalia and Eritrea

If only!

Overland travel, especially through the developing, occasionally has one at a border looking across at a “no go” country. These are countries at war or unsafe for reasons such as disease or terrorist activity. Such moments inspire in me an immense curiosity of what the place and people are actually like. A curiosity that feeds upon itself and has me wondering about the possibility of actually crossing the border.
In 1987 near the end of 2 months back packing through East Africa I found myself on the northern Kenyan island of Lamu, a stone’s throw from the Somali border and the capitol Mogadishu. I toyed with the idea of crossing into Somalia and clearly remember the Lonely Planet guide of the time wax lyrical about miles of beautiful golden beaches, shark infested waters and the politically unstable situation under the Marxist dictator Mohamed Siad Barre a man that the UN described at the time as having one of the worst human rights records in Africa.
In 2008 on a trip to Ethiopia I visited the city of Harare set right up aganst the Somali border and at one road intersection was wistfully gazing across into a failed state. A country racked by terrorism and warring clans. A country in which the terrorist organisation Al-Shabab kidnaps foreigners and holds them for ransom as well as practising piracy on the high seas.
On Tuesday I will be there.

Categories
From Russia with love

Reflections on Russia

As a tourist destination I believe that Russia still suffers from a significant hangover from its Soviet days. We still hark back to the days where this place was closed, forbidden, the “evil empire” finger on the nuclear button. Its an image that almost a century of Hollywood media has imprinted upon our subconscious.
One of my days on the trans Siberian I was standing in the corridor of the carriage looking out at the unchanging scenery. A twentysomething Russian girl wearing a tourist T shirt from Brisbane struck up a conversation. She made a very prescient comment. She said that tourists to Russia tend to be those who have already visited a lot of countries. Gobsmacked I told her that Russia was somewhere around my 80th country that I have visited and really what she was saying that Russia doesn’t figure highly on most peoples’ bucket lists.
Myimpressions of this country is that there is a lot to see and the people are friendly. Apart from St Petersburg and Moscow tourism does not rate highly around most of the country. The biggest barrier for the independent tourist is the language both spoken and written. Being unable to even read street signs without taking a crash course in Cyrillic is a real problem.
I have really enjoyed my 6 weeks in this the largest country in the world as I hope you have all enjoyed looking at it through this blog. Back to work and reality in 3 days but before I sign off until next year a couple of pictures from the base of Avachinski volcano that I took this morning on an amazingly clear day yet again.

Vilyuchinski volcano
Vilyuchinski volcano
Avachinski volcano
Avachinski volcano
Marmots in our cabin
Marmots in our cabin
Categories
From Russia with love

Gorely and Mutnovsky

One hour into our walk it is an absolute whiteout, thick fog, white snow and a wind driven horizontal drizzle. By the time I realise that the rain is significant it is already too late. I don my rainproofs but I am already really wet. Upward ever upward we trudge at times the snow slope is steep and slippery and I have multiple near falls any of which would leave me slipping hundreds of metres down the near vertical snow cliff. It is here that the cheap and nasty replacement footwear that I was forced to get reveals its deficiencies.
After four hours we reach the crater of Mutnovsky volcano and it is a whiteout up here also. As we sit down and eat lunch the sun punches through the mist and we start to see the fumeroles spewing out the sulphurous gas we can already smell. As we start taking photos we are in luck and substantial breaks in the cloud occur and we see a geothermal wonderland. Fumeroles everywhere, boiling mud, acid lakes, a glacier, ice caves and an acid river. This is truly an amazing expression of the power of nature.

RUS_7033 RUS_7035 RUS_7141 RUS_7154 RUS_7178 RUS_7182 RUS_7183 RUS_7197 RUS_7198 RUS_7202 RUS_7215 RUS_7220 RUS_7231 RUS_7232 RUS_7234 RUS_7235 RUS_7241 RUS_7245
To get to this volcanic area it was effectively a 3 day drive on our 6WD truck. A stop at the tiny village of Esso provided some relief from camping and a cultural interlude showcasing the indigenous native “Even” people and their lifestyle. It is interesting walking around the streets here so many of the people have rounded slightly Asiatic, eskimo looking facial features.

Esso museum
Esso museum
Looking back to Mt Tolbachik
Looking back to Mt Tolbachik
Mt Kluytchetskaya
Mt Kluytchetskaya

On the day before Mutnovsky the sun rises bright in clear skies and we ascend Gorely volcano. Again it is a steep 4 hour steady climb but today the weather allows us to see the panorama of snow capped volcanoes all around. At the top we gaze down int the deep cylindrical cone down to a beautiful turquoise glacial lake. Wandering further around the next cone has a muddy, khaki coloured sulphur lake. The scenery is otherworldly and we are lucky with the weather today.

Glacier lake on Gorely
Glacier lake on Gorely
Sulphur lake
Sulphur lake
Mutnovsky from Gorely
Mutnovsky from Gorely
Surrounding view
Surrounding view
Mt Lychitskaya
Mt Lychitskaya
Golden rhododendron
Golden rhododendron

RUS_7042RUS_7035

Mt Gorely
Mt Gorely