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Putting war-torn Somalia back together has been like trying to repair a mosaic without cement: As soon as the pieces seem to be in order, it falls apart again. Clan conflicts remain unresolved, so fighting can flare up at any moment. Daily life is so dangerous and unpredictable that even relief agencies frequently have to pull out. For ordinary travelers, there is little chance that conditions will improve enough in the near future to consider a trip to Somalia.

Recent events have brought both hope and tragedy to the country. In August 2004, the first elected government since 1991 was formed. (For security reasons, the seat of government is in Kenya, not Mogadishu.) Then, in December 2004, Somalia was hit by the tsunamis that devastated much of Southeast Asia. Although the death toll was not as high as in other nations, thousands of people were displaced. The impact on the island of Hafun was especially severe and is expected to be long-lasting.

Geography

History

Long ago, Somalia was known as the Land of Punt and was famed throughout the ancient world for its frankincense and myrrh. Somalia was an Arab trading post until portions were claimed by Italy and Britain in the 1800s. The northern portion became British Somaliland, and the southern three-quarters was dubbed Italian Somaliland. In 1960, both colonial powers relinquished control, and Somalia became united and independent. Since then, it has battled Ethiopia for Ogaden, a region of eastern Ethiopia whose population, for the most part, is ethnic Somali. Somalia was more recently the cockpit of superpower political maneuvering. Its strategic position at the entrance of the Red Sea (which provides access to the Suez Canal) made it immensely valuable to the Soviets as a counterweight to the U.S. presence in Ethiopia. Moscow and Washington switched client states in 1975, after the Ethiopian monarchy was overthrown by Marxist military officers. Both superpowers continued to pour massive amounts of armaments into the region.

In 1991, as the Cold War ended, Somalia's longtime ruler, President Siad Barre, was ousted, and the country fell into a complete chaos of warring clans. The strife was made all the worse by the mountains of leftover Soviet and Western arms. The U.S.-led United Nations mission in Somalia withdrew its forces in 1995, after failing to restore order, and the country has been in a state of anarchy ever since. In the northern part of the country, the self-declared independent states of Somaliland (in the northwest) and Puntland (in the northeast) are relatively peaceful but desperately poor and still riven with clan differences.

In late 2004, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed was elected as the country's new president and professor Muhamed Ghedi was appointed prime minister. Yet despite this move towards peace, Somalia remained unstable with various clans and warlords continuing to fight it out for dominance, forcing the new government to operate out of Kenya.

The slated arrival of the new government in the capital, Mogadishu, originally scheduled for February 2005, was delayed time and again while the leaders carried out fact-finding tours in an effort to persuade Somalis to accept their administration and an African Union-authorized regional peacekeeping force. A bombing that killed at least eight people marred the new prime minister's first visit to Mogadishu in May 2005. The incident was characterized as an attempted assassination, but the prime minister escaped unhurt.

The transitional government has Western and United Nations recognition but little actual authority. Opposing is the Council of Islamic Courts, which controls most of southern Somalia. A third round of peace talks in October 2006 broke down, but peace efforts continued. Tensions run extremely high, however, and the possibility of all-out war looms large.

Snapshot

When conditions return to normal, the chief attractions of Somalia will be camel markets, beaches, cultural attractions, architecture and historic sites.

At this time, and for the foreseeable future, the only people likely to go to Somalia are relief workers and journalists.

Potpourri

Somalia's chaotic political status has made it a popular place for terrorist groups, including Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network, to transfer their illicit funds. In 2001, the nation's largest telecommunications company, which is also its largest money-transfer firm, was forced to shut down after U.S. and U.K. partners withdrew out of suspicion that the company was being used to transfer money to al-Qaida. The shutdown prevented thousands of Somalis from receiving remittances sent from outside the country.

The waters off Somalia are considered some of the best fishing areas in the world. But because of the country's internal anarchy, no one is protecting the area from the dumping of toxic wastes by foreign ships—or from illegal fishing by foreign vessels.

One of Somalia's important warlords is a naturalized U.S. citizen who attended high school in California: Hussein Mohamed Aidid, son of Somali warlord Mohamed Farah Aidid, even served as a U.S. Marine.

Despite Somalia's lawlessness, some aspects of the country continue to function, even to flourish. For those of means, there are clinics, schools and communications centers run by entrepreneurs.

Relief workers call Mogadishu "Mog."

Islamic sharia courts are flourishing in Somalia, replacing the collapsed secular justice system. The court's rulings, based on the Koran, often call for public floggings, stonings, amputations and executions.

The Somali language wasn't put in written form until 1973.

Town-dwelling Somali men wear Western dress or colorful sarongs called a ma'awis. Women wear long, colorful dresses. The nomadic Somali wears a two-piece garment resembling a toga called a tobe.

Mogadishu is two degrees north of the equator, so daylight is from about 6 am to 6 pm throughout the year.

Nearly 75% of Somalia's population is nomadic or seminomadic.

More than 120 U.N. troops, including 42 U.S. citizens, died during the 1995 peacekeeping mission in Somalia.

Somalia was the worst hit of all African states by the December 2004 tsunami. It killed some 200 Somalis and left thousands homeless.