Hargeisa

The town evolved in the latter half of the 1800s as a Qadiriyya settlement established by Sheikh Madar, near a water-stop used by nomadic stock-herders on the way to the town of Harar. It proposes a possible derivation of the name "Hargeisa" from the sobriquet Harar as-sagir, meaning "Harar the little"{{cite book |title=Encyclopaedia Britannica: A New Survey of Universal Knowledge |year=1957 |publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica |page=967 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=caIRAQAAMAAJ&q=hargeisa+little+harar}}{{cite journal | last =Ficadorey | first =Gianfranco | title =Ha | journal =Basic Reference | volume =3 | page =1032 | publisher =Thomson/Gale | location = NY, USA | year =2008 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=X38lxaUjm1MC&q=hargeisa+little+harar&pg=PA1032| isbn =9783447052382 }} According to historian Norman Bennett, Madar named the settlement Hargeisa or Little Harar since he aspired for it to emulate the city of Harar as a center for Islamic teachings.{{cite book|last1=Bennett|first1=Norman|title=Leadership in Eastern Africa|date=1968|publisher=Boston University Press|page=70|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=607jAAAAMAAJ&q=hargeisa+little+harar|access-date=14 July 2016}} Another etymological root for Hargeisa's name derives from the towns connection to the skins trade. Hargeisa has been a watering and trading stop between the coast and the interior, and chief amongst the goods traded were the hide skins procured from the interior to be processed in the settlement. In this etymological version, 'Hargeisa' is derived from hargageys, which means "place to sell hides and skins" in Somali.{{cite book|last1=Haji Mukhtar.|first1=M|title= Historical Dictionary of Somalia|date=2003|publisher=Scarecrow Press|pages=98}}{{cite book|last1=Gabriel Schnitzer.|first1=J|title=Hides and Skins: World Production and International Trade |date=1927|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|pages=145}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TkQoAAAAMAAJ|title=Taḥaḍḍur fī al-waṭan al-ʻArabī (Institute of Arab Research and Studies)|date=1978|isbn=9789777287289 }}

File:Laas Geel.jpg complex on the outskirts of Hargeisa.]]

Numerous cave paintings from the Neolithic period are found in the Laas Geel complex, on the outskirts of Hargeisa. During November and December 2002, an archaeological survey was carried out in the area by a French team of researchers. The expedition's objective was to search for rock shelters and caves containing stratified archaeological infills capable of documenting the period when production economy appeared in this part of Somaliland ({{Circa|5th}} and 2nd millennium BCE). During the course of the survey, the French archaeological team discovered the Laas Geel rock art, encompassing an area of ten rock alcoves (caves). In an excellent state of preservation, the paintings show human figures with their hands raised and facing long-horned, humpless cattle.The Journal of African Archeology Volume 1.2 (2003) Chapter 3

The rock art had been known to the area's inhabitants for centuries before the French discovery. However, the existence of the site had not been broadcast to the international community. In November 2003, a mission returned to Laas Geel and a team of experts undertook a detailed study of the paintings and their prehistoric context.

Somaliland generally is home to numerous such archaeological sites, with similar rock art and/or ancient edifices such as the Dhambalin rock art. However, many of these old structures have yet to be properly explored, a process which would help shed further light on local history and facilitate their preservation for posterity.Michael Hodd, East African Handbook, (Trade & Travel Publications: 1994), p.640.

File:HargeisaCloseup1885.png map, showing Hargeisa (Harrer-es-Sagheer) as well as the Eidagale subtribe (Eed-a-galleh) residing within and around the town. The Naasa Hablood hills (Nas Hubla) can also be seen in the map]]

According to traditional poetic (gabay) oral accounts, Hargeisa was founded by the Arap as a watering and trading stop for passing nomads and caravans. It is believed that and the Habar Yoonis and the Eidagale subtribes were amongst the early settlers of Hargeisa.{{Cite web|url=http://salaanmedia.com/2015/02/the-history-of-hargeisa-city-as-per-documentary-from-u-tube-taken-live-frtom-hagi-abdi-hussen-abdi-waraabe-commented-by-dr-mohamed-rashid-sheik-hassan-an-ex-bbc-somali-broadcaster/|title=The history of Hargeisa City as per documentary from U- Tube taken live frtom Hagi Abdi Hussen (Abdi Waraabe) commented by Dr. Mohamed Rashid sheik Hassan (An Ex-BBC Somali broadcaster).|date=2015-02-18|website=Salaan Media|access-date=2020-03-14|archive-date=2020-01-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128102732/http://salaanmedia.com/2015/02/the-history-of-hargeisa-city-as-per-documentary-from-u-tube-taken-live-frtom-hagi-abdi-hussen-abdi-waraabe-commented-by-dr-mohamed-rashid-sheik-hassan-an-ex-bbc-somali-broadcaster/|url-status=dead}} Hargeisa continued to grow with the arrival of Sheikh Madar Shirwa, widely considered to be the founder of Hargeisa religious commune and the modern iteration of the settlement.{{Cite book|title=Somaliland with Addis Ababa & Eastern Ethiopia|year=2012|first=Philip|last=Briggs|publisher=Bradt Travel Guides |isbn=9781841623719}}{{cite journal |title=South Asia Bulletin |year=1996 |volume=16 |issue=2 |page=88 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3-AUAQAAIAAJ |journal=University of California, Los Angeles |access-date=20 October 2023}}

File:Sheikh Madar of Hargeisa (right).jpg (right) and Sultan Deria Hassan in Hargeisa 1912]]

Madar Shirwa was born in Berbera and belonged to the Nuh Ismail subdivision of the Sa'ad Musa Habr Awal. Madar arrived in Harar to study the Islamic Sciences under the top ulema of Harar, which consisted of Harari and Somali scholars.{{cite book |last1=Abubaker |first1=Abdulmalik |title=The relevance of Harari values |publisher=University of Alabama |page=151 |url=https://www.everythingharar.com/files/RelevanceofhararivaluesAbdumalik.pdf}}{{cite book |last1=Burton |first1=Richard |title=First footsteps in East Africa |url=http://www.artsrn.ualberta.ca/amcdouga/Hist347/additional%20rdgs/First%20footsteps%20in%20East%20Africa,%20by%20Richard%20Burton%20(chapter8).pdf |access-date=2020-04-07 |archive-date=2021-05-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518020109/http://www.artsrn.ualberta.ca/amcdouga/Hist347/additional%20rdgs/First%20footsteps%20in%20East%20Africa,%20by%20Richard%20Burton%20(chapter8).pdf |url-status=dead }} "The chief Ulema are the Kabir Khalil, the Kabir Yunis, and the Shaykh Jami: the two former scarcely ever quit their houses, devoting all their time to study and tuition: the latter is a Somali who takes an active part in politics. These professors teach Moslem literature through the medium of Harari, a peculiar dialect confined within the walls" Sheikh Khalil, one of the ulema of Harar, advised Sheikh Madar to establish a Qadiriyya tariqa commune in present-day Hargeisa and spread the teachings he was taught, which lead Sheikh Madar and his companions to found the Big Commune (Jama'a weyne) of Little Harar (Hargeisa) in {{Circa|1860}}. Somali pastoralists heavily follow rain and pastures this would change with the agricultural and stationary lifestyle Madar would introduce on the back of large sorghum plantations. This was to maintain self-sufficiency and Sheikh Madar and the other Mullahs would take care of the sick and elderly inhabitants of the growing settlement. Lastly, Sheikh Madar pushed towards a common religious identity rather than identifying solely by tribe. Stone houses and other structures would be built and Hargeisa would develop into a large permanent settlement irrespective of the caravan trade that defined it in decades prior.{{cite book|last1=Burton. F.|first1=Richard|title= First Footsteps in East Africa |date=1856|pages=360}}{{cite book|last1=Abdurahman.|first1=A|title= Making Sense of Somali History|date=2017|publisher=Adonis and Abbey|pages=80}}{{cite journal |title=Leadership in Eastern Africa |journal=African Research Studies |date=1968 |issue=9 |page=70 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W0M8AAAAIAAJ&q=madar+hargeisa}} Sheikh Madar met with the 4th Isaaq Grand Sultan Deria Hassan outside Hargeisa in a famous 1870 shir (meeting) to discuss issues regarding the new town of Hargeisa and agreed that poaching and tree cutting in the vicinity should be banned.{{cite book|last=WSP Transition Programme|first=War-torn Societies Project|title=Rebuilding Somaliland: Issues and Possibilities, Volume 1|publisher=Red Sea Press|year=2005|page=214}}

H. Swayne, a British soldier and explorer who traversed the Somali peninsula between the 1880-1890s wrote about Hargeisa in his journals:

This town is built some five hundred yards from the right bank of the Aleyadera nala, and at an elevation of thirty or forty feet above it. Round the place is a patch of jowari (sorghum) cultivation, two and a half miles long and a quarter of a mile broad. Quantities of livestock of all kinds graze on the low undulating hills for half a mile from the Aleyadera nala on either bank. Hargeisa is situated on two important caravan routes, one from Ogaden and the other from Harar. There are good direct camel-roads to Berbera and Bulhar. Supplies of rice, tobacco, and dates can sometimes be bought here in the trading season. Some four hundred people are employed looking after the jowari fields, and may be seen sitting on platforms, shouting and throwing stones to scare birds from the crops. There is abundance of good water in the bed of the river, and a masonry well has been built, and is kept in order by an Arab from Aden. The town is full of blind and lame people, who are under the protection of Sheikh Mattar and his mullahs.{{Cite book|title=Seventeen Trips Through Somaliland and a Visit to Abyssinia|last=Carlos-Swayne|first=Harald|year=1900|pages=96}}

File:The National Archives UK - CO 1069-3-179.jpg protectorate.]]

In 1888, after signing successive treaties with the then ruling Somali Sultans and chiefs, the British established a protectorate in the region referred to as British Somaliland with Berbera becoming the capital.Hugh Chisholm (ed.), The encyclopædia britannica: a dictionary of arts, sciences, literature and general information, Volume 25, (At the University press: 1911), p.383. The British garrisoned the protectorate from Aden in present-day Yemen, and administered it from their British India until 1898. British Somaliland was then administered by the Foreign Office until 1905 and afterwards by the Colonial Office.

The capital was moved from Berbera to Hargeisa, and the city was granted capital status in 1941. During the East African Campaign, the protectorate was invaded by Italy in August 1940, but recaptured by the British in March 1941. In 1945 the British administration had grown weary of the influence wadaads had wielded in the protectorate and moved to arrest several in Hargeisa. They had been deemed nuisances to implementing 'modern education' and agricultural reforms in Somaliland. Following their arrests on June 4, a mob formed and temporarily freed the imprisoned wadaads who were recaptured the next day. Religious leaders motivated the city's inhabitants and a crowd of several thousand rioters marched on the Hargeisa District Headquarters determined to free the imprisoned wadaads. They were fired upon by the District Commissioner's troops with one dying and dozens imprisoned for trying to free the Sheikhs.{{cite book|title=British Somaliland An Administrative History, 1920-1960|first=Brock|last=Milman|year=2014|isbn=9780367868840|pages=138–139|publisher=Routledge}}

The protectorate gained its independence on 26 June 1960 as the State of Somaliland,{{Cite news |title=Somaliland Marks Independence After 73 Years of British Rule |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1960/06/26/archives/somaliland-marks-independence-after-73-years-of-british-rule.html |format=fee required |work=The New York Times |page=6 |date=1960-06-26 |access-date=2008-06-20 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717224936/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00A10FB395A1A7A93C4AB178DD85F448685F9 |archive-date=2011-07-17 }}{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-10740852 |work=BBC News |title=How Britain said farewell to its Empire |date=2010-07-23 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425041732/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-10740852 |archive-date=2012-04-25 }} before uniting as planned days later with the Trust Territory of Somaliland (the former Italian Somaliland) to form the Somali Republic.

File:Hargeisa War Memorial 2012.jpg commemorating Somaliland's breakaway from the rest of Somalia during the 1980s.{{cite news|title=Close Residents of Somaliland sit under a war memorial of a MiG fighter jet in the centre of town in Hargeisa|url=http://www.trust.org/item/20130519152736-07z9a/?source=search&view=quickview|access-date=11 February 2014|newspaper=Reuters|date=19 May 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223150714/http://www.trust.org/item/20130519152736-07z9a/?source=search&view=quickview|archive-date=23 February 2014}}]]

In the post-independence period, Hargeisa was administered as the capital of the Woqooyi Galbeed province of Somalia. Numerous new development projects were subsequently launched in the city by the Somali government. Among these initiatives was the creation of the Hargeisa Provincial Museum. It was the first museum to be established in Somalia since independence in 1960.{{cite journal|doi=10.1111/j.1468-0033.1986.tb00633.x|title=The Provincial Museum of Hargeisa|author=Cobelj, Stefanja|journal=Museum International|volume=38|issue=3|pages=150–154|date=April 24, 2009}} The Hargeisa International Airport was also renovated and modernized, with the ultimate aim of equipping the facility to accommodate larger aircraft and offer more flight destinations.Economist Intelligence Unit (Great Britain), Country report: Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti, (The Unit: 1986), p.43.

{{Main|1988 Hargeisa-Burao offensive|Somaliland War of Independence}}

On 31 May 1988, at 2:15 a.m, the Somali National Movement (shortened SNM) attacked Hargeisa. With two Habar yunis leaders, one in Burco and the other in the capital city Hargeisa.{{Cite book|url=https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/somalia_1990.pdf|title=Somalia: A Government at War With Its Own People|publisher=Human Rights Watch|year=1990|pages=137, 145}} The SNM force attacking Hargeisa was estimated at 500 men equipped with 84 vehicles, of whom only 14 were left due to vehicles being sent to the front in Adadley.{{Cite book |last1=Prunier |first1=Gérard |author-link=Gérard Prunier |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ynEhEAAAQBAJ |title=The Country That Does Not Exist: A History of Somaliland |year=2021 |publisher=C. Hurst & Co. |location=London |pages=95–99 |isbn=9781787382039 |oclc=1242464786 |ol=OL33740503M |access-date=20 October 2023 |url-access=limited |archive-date=6 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230306234601/https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Country_that_Does_Not_Exist/ynEhEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 |url-status=live}} The SNM captured the headquarters of the 26th Division, as well as capturing the Birjeex arms depot where the SNM collected ammunition. An SNM fighter who partook in the Hargeisa offensive described Somali troops dropping their uniforms on the ground and fleeing. The SNM encountered stiff resistance from the Somali Army as they surrounded Radio Hargeisa's headquarters. Due to heavy bombardment from Somali heavy artillery and tanks, the SNM force tasked with capturing Hargeisa airport fell back and retreated to Adadley.

By 1 June, with the exception of Hargeisa Airport, the SNM overran the city.{{Cite book|last=Abdullahi|first=Mohamed Diriye|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Nu918tYMB8C&pg=PA37|title=Culture and Customs of Somalia|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=2001|isbn=978-0-313-31333-2|pages=37}} During the Somali army counterattack the SNM line of defense in the city was behind Hargeisa's radio station.

File:Hargeisa destroyed by Somali government.jpg

Dictator Siad Barre's response to the SNM attacks was of unparalleled brutality; with explicit aims of handling the "Isaaq problem", he ordered "the shelling and aerial bombardment of the major cities in the northwest and the systematic destruction of Isaaq dwellings, settlements and water points. In one of the most brutal episodes of the Isaaq genocide, the regime targeted civilian members of the Isaaq group specifically,{{Cite web |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2014/02/investigating-genocide-somaliland-20142310820367509.html |title=Investigating genocide in Somaliland |last=Reinl |first=James |publisher=Al Jazeera |access-date=25 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170507223827/http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2014/02/investigating-genocide-somaliland-20142310820367509.html |archive-date=7 May 2017 |url-status=live }} especially in the cities of Hargeisa and Burco and to that end employed the use of indiscriminate artillery shelling and aerial bombardment against civilian populations belonging to the Isaaq ethnic group.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IXdqkSH4S7EC&pg=PA57 |title=Somalia: Issues, History, and Bibliography |last=Fitzgerald |first=Nina J. |date=1 January 2002 |publisher=Nova Publishers |isbn=978-1-59033-265-8}}Geldenhuys, p.131 Up to 90% of the city was destroyed.

After the collapse of the Somali central government and the unilateral declaration of independence of the Republic of Somaliland, a slow process of infrastructural reconstruction subsequently began in Hargeisa and other towns in the country.

Since 1991, Hargeisa has undergone a large-scale facelift. The renovations have been largely financed by local entrepreneurs, as well as Somali expatriates sending remittance funds to relatives in the region through some of the various Somali-owned money transfer operators.{{cite web|url=http://www.diaspora-centre.org/DOCS/UK_Somali_Remittan.pdf|title=UK Somali Remittances Survey|website=diaspora-centre.org|access-date=30 April 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170617224947/http://www.diaspora-centre.org/DOCS/UK_Somali_Remittan.pdf|archive-date=17 June 2017}} Most of the destroyed residential and commercial buildings have since been reconstructed, with many newer structures erected. Single-storey buildings downtown are also progressively giving way to multi-storey high-rises.

Hargeisa has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen: BSh). The city generally features very warm winters and hot summers. However, despite its location in the tropics, due to the high altitude Hargeisa seldom experiences either very hot or very cold weather, a trait rarely seen in semi-arid climates. The city receives the bulk of its rain between the months of April and September, averaging just over {{convert|400|mm|in}} of rainfall annually. Average monthly temperatures in Hargeisa range from {{convert|18|C|1|disp=or}} in the months of December and January to {{convert|24|C|1|disp=or}} in the month of June.

{{Weather box

| width = auto

| location = Hargeisa

| metric first = Yes

| single line = Yes

|Jan record high C = 31.1

|Feb record high C = 31.7

|Mar record high C = 32.8

|Apr record high C = 32.8

|May record high C = 35.0

|Jun record high C = 33.9

|Jul record high C = 33.9

|Aug record high C = 33.3

|Sep record high C = 32.8

|Oct record high C = 31.7

|Nov record high C = 30.6

|Dec record high C = 28.9

|year record high C = 35.0

| Jan high C = 24.2

| Feb high C = 26.6

| Mar high C = 28.7

| Apr high C = 29.2

| May high C = 30.5

| Jun high C = 31.0

| Jul high C = 29.2

| Aug high C = 29.2

| Sep high C = 30.5

| Oct high C = 28.2

| Nov high C = 26.0

| Dec high C = 23.7

|year high C = 28.1

| Jan mean C = 17.7

| Feb mean C = 18.7

| Mar mean C = 21.6

| Apr mean C = 23.0

| May mean C = 24.1

| Jun mean C = 24.3

| Jul mean C = 23.6

| Aug mean C = 23.6

| Sep mean C = 23.6

| Oct mean C = 24.1

| Nov mean C = 18.7

| Dec mean C = 18.0

| year mean C = 21.7

| Jan low C = 11.6

| Feb low C = 12.6

| Mar low C = 15.0

| Apr low C = 16.6

| May low C = 17.7

| Jun low C = 17.7

| Jul low C = 17.1

| Aug low C = 17.1

| Sep low C = 17.1

| Oct low C = 15.0

| Nov low C = 13.1

| Dec low C = 12.1

|year low C = 15.2

|Jan record low C = 2.8

|Feb record low C = 2.8

|Mar record low C = 3.9

|Apr record low C = 9.4

|May record low C = 11.7

|Jun record low C = 11.7

|Jul record low C = 10.5

|Aug record low C = 11.1

|Sep record low C = 11.1

|Oct record low C = 7.2

|Nov record low C = 4.4

|Dec record low C = 4.4

|year record low C = 2.8

|rain colour = green

|Jan rain mm = 2

|Feb rain mm = 2

|Mar rain mm = 36

|Apr rain mm = 53

|May rain mm = 49

|Jun rain mm = 61

|Jul rain mm = 38

|Aug rain mm = 81

|Sep rain mm = 61

|Oct rain mm = 20

|Nov rain mm = 8

|Dec rain mm = 1

|year rain mm = 412

|unit rain days = 0.1 mm

|Jan rain days = 1

|Feb rain days = 1

|Mar rain days = 3

|Apr rain days = 6

|May rain days = 7

|Jun rain days = 9

|Jul rain days = 8

|Aug rain days = 10

|Sep rain days = 11

|Oct rain days = 4

|Nov rain days = 1

|Dec rain days = 0

|year rain days = 61

|Jan humidity = 65

|Feb humidity = 65

|Mar humidity = 58

|Apr humidity = 57

|May humidity = 56

|Jun humidity = 55

|Jul humidity = 53

|Aug humidity = 53

|Sep humidity = 55

|Oct humidity = 56

|Nov humidity = 61

|Dec humidity = 64

|year humidity =

| Jan dew point C =11

| Feb dew point C =12

| Mar dew point C =12

| Apr dew point C =15

| May dew point C =15

| Jun dew point C =14

| Jul dew point C =15

| Aug dew point C =16

| Sep dew point C =15

| Oct dew point C =12

| Nov dew point C =12

| Dec dew point C =11

| Jand sun =8.9

| Febd sun =9.8

| Mard sun =9.7

| Aprd sun =11.2

| Mayd sun =11.9

| Jund sun =12.1

| Juld sun =11.8

| Augd sun =12.2

| Sepd sun =11.4

| Octd sun =9.6

| Novd sun =8.7

| Decd sun =7.6

| Jan percentsun = 80

| Feb percentsun = 73

| Mar percentsun = 80

| Apr percentsun = 73

| May percentsun = 64

| Jun percentsun = 73

| Jul percentsun = 64

| Aug percentsun = 64

| Sep percentsun = 73

| Oct percentsun = 80

| Nov percentsun = 80

| Dec percentsun = 80

| year percentsun = 74

|source 1 = Food and Agriculture Organization: Somalia Water and Land Management (temperatures, humidity and percent sunshine)

{{cite web

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161104142616/http://www.faoswalim.org/resources/site_files/W-01%20Climate%20of%20Somalia_0.pdf

| archive-date = 4 November 2016

| url = http://www.faoswalim.org/resources/site_files/W-01%20Climate%20of%20Somalia_0.pdf

| title = Climate of Somalia

| publisher = Food and Agriculture Organization

| pages = 69–73

| access-date = 4 November 2016}}{{cite web

|url = http://sddr.faoswalim.org/downloads/Long%20Term%20Mean_Monthly__sunshine%20fraction.xls

|title = Long term mean monthly sunshine fraction in Somalia

|publisher = Food and Agriculture Organization

|access-date = 4 November 2016

|url-status = dead

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161005063105/http://sddr.faoswalim.org/downloads/Long%20Term%20Mean_Monthly__sunshine%20fraction.xls

|archive-date = 5 October 2016

}}

|source 2 = Deutscher Wetterdienst (extremes and precipitation)

{{cite web

| url = http://www.dwd.de/DWD/klima/beratung/ak/ak_631700_kt.pdf

| title = Klimatafel von Hargeisa / Somalia

| work = Baseline climate means (1961–1990) from stations all over the world

| publisher = Deutscher Wetterdienst

| language = de

| access-date = 4 November 2016}}

Time and Date (dewpoints, 2005-2015){{cite web

|url = https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/somalia/hargeisa/climate

|title = Climate & Weather Averages in Hargeisa, Somalia

|publisher = Time and Date

|access-date = 11 January 2022}}

Weather Atlas (daily sun hours){{cite web

|url = https://www.weather-atlas.com/en/somalia/hargeisa-climate#daylight_sunshine

|title = Monthly weather forecast and climate in Hargeisa, Somalia

|publisher = Weather Atlas

|access-date = 11 January 2022}}

}}

File:House of Representatives of the Republic of Somaliland.jpg.]]

Situated in the Maroodi Jeh region of Somaliland, Hargeisa is the seat of the Somaliland's Parliament, the presidential palace, and government ministries.[http://hargeisacity.50megs.com/ Hargeisa City Hall] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130116085417/http://hargeisacity.50megs.com/ |date=2013-01-16 }}. Retrieved on 2012-10-17. (2000 est.)

The first mayor of Hargeisa in 1960 was Aadan Cumar fure, who held the position from 1950 to 1959. The current municipal administration is led by Abdikarim Ahmed Mooge. A member of the Waddani party, he was elected the Mayor during the 2021 Somaliland municipal elections.{{Cite web|title=Duqa cusub ee magaalada Hargeysa oo la doortay|url=https://www.voasomali.com/a/5932400.html|access-date=2021-12-10|website=VOA|date=17 June 2021 |language=so}}{{Cite web|title=History made in Somaliland as minority candidate, son of former singer scoop more votes|url=https://www.garoweonline.com/en/featured/history-made-in-somaliland-as-minority-candidate-son-of-former-singer-scoop-more-votes|access-date=2021-12-10|website=Garowe Online|date=30 June 2020 }}

According to a more recent December 2017 report from the Social Research and Development Institute (SORADI) based in Hargeisa, the city divided into eight sub-districts; being the 31 May, 26 June, Ahmed Dhagah, Ahmed Moallim Haruun, Gacan Libaax, Ibrahim Kodbuur, Mohamoud Haibe, and Mohamed Moge Districts.{{cite report |title=Understanding the Hargeisa Local Council System 'Phase 2' |url=https://soradi.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/SORADI-IAAAP-Project-Final-Report.-IAAAP-19.1.18-1.pdf |publisher=Social Research and Development Institute |page=18 |date=December 2017 |access-date=27 October 2023}} This information is contradictory to an April 2003 report by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), which states only five sub-districts exist: being the 26 June, Ahmed Dhagah, Gacan Libaax, Ibrahim Kodbuur, and Mohamoud Haibe sub-districts, each having between four and six sub-sections of their own.{{cite report |last1=King |first1=Alexandra |last2=Mohamed |first2=Abdi Musa |last3=Addou |first3=Sidow Ibrahim |title=Hargeisa Urban Household Economy Assessment {{!}} February – March 2003 |url=https://fews.net/sites/default/files/documents/reports/so_baseline_urban_Hargeisa_en.pdf |publisher=Famine Early Warning Systems Network |page=14 |date=24 April 2003 |access-date=27 October 2023}} Presumably a redistricting occurred sometime between 2004 and 2017.

Each sub-district has their own elected council members, whose responsibility is to represent their district and fulfil their populations needs. To increase the effectiveness of these sub-districts, especially underrepresented ones such as Gacan Libaax, a so-called "accountability forum" has been established to discuss and create policy to better represent marginalized communities.

Hargeisa has grown rapidly since the middle of the 20th century. According to I. M. Lewis, Hargeisa's population was estimated to be 30,000 in 1958.{{Cite journal |last=Lewis |first=I. M. |date=1958 |title=Modern Political Movements in Somaliland, I |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1157981 |journal=Africa: Journal of the International African Institute |volume=28 |issue=3 |pages=244–261 |doi=10.2307/1157981 |jstor=1157981 |s2cid=245909931 |issn=0001-9720}} {{Historical populations|1901|1000|1920|2000|1932|20000|1955|40000|1960|45000|1970|50000|1980|100000|1990|90000|1999|250000|2005|300000|2007|450000|2012|850000|2019|1200000|type=|footnote=Various{{Cite book |last=Epstein |first=M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k4zJDQAAQBAJ&dq=hargeisa+population+1930&pg=PA217 |title=The Statesman's Year-Book: Statistical and Historical Annual of the States of the World for the Year 1932 |date=2016-12-23 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-0-230-27061-9 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Lindley |first=Anna |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IXJFAAAAQBAJ&dq=hargeisa+population+1980&pg=PA54 |title=The Early Morning is Phonecall: Somali Refugees' Remittances |date=2010-08-01 |publisher=Berghahn Books |isbn=978-1-84545-832-4 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Mines |first=International Campaign to Ban Land |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hiwJHi8Pa2IC&dq=hargeisa+population+1991&pg=PA213 |title=Landmine Monitor Report 1999: Toward a Mine-free World |date=1999 |publisher=Human Rights Watch |isbn=978-1-56432-231-9 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Lansford |first=Tom |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yNGfBwAAQBAJ&dq=hargeisa+population+2012&pg=PT5625 |title=Political Handbook of the World 2015 |date=2015-03-24 |publisher=CQ Press |isbn=978-1-4833-7155-9 |language=en}}}} In 2005, the UNDP said that the city had a population of 560,028.{{cite web |url=https://docs.unocha.org/sites/dms/Somalia/UNDP-POP-RURAL-URBAN%202005.pdf |title=OCHA |access-date=2013-09-21 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130925103014/https://docs.unocha.org/sites/dms/Somalia/UNDP-POP-RURAL-URBAN%202005.pdf |archive-date=2013-09-25 }} According to CIA factbook, Hargeisa had an estimated population of around 760,000 as of 2015. The main residents of Hargeisa are the Sa'ad Musa subclan of the Habr Awal, the Eidagale and Habar Yoonis subclans of the Habr Garhajis, the Arap, and the Ayub, all of which are subdivisions of the larger Isaaq clan.{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/somalia/|title=Somalia|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|location=Langley, Virginia|work=The World Factbook|access-date=6 December 2013}} As of 2019, it is estimated that Hargeisa has a population of 1.2 million{{Cite book|archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20250226123803/https://www.thebrenthurstfoundation.org/uploads/e433bb0c-19fa-43c2-a666-0809d1483b37.pdf|archive-date=February 26, 2025|last=Kilcullen|first=David|title=Hargeisa, Somaliland – Invisible City|publisher=The Brenthurst Foundation|date=April 2019|url=https://www.thebrenthurstfoundation.org/publications/hargeisa-somaliland-invisible-city/}} The urban area occupies {{convert|75|km2}}, with a population density of {{convert|12600|PD/km2}}.

File:Somalia (Somaliland)(023).jpg bank in Hargeisa.]]

Hargeisa is the financial hub to many entrepreneurial industries ranging from finance, retail, imports/export warehouses to gem cutters, construction, food processing, textiles and livestock trading.

In June 2012, the Partnership Fund for the private sector in Somaliland was launched at Hargeisa's Ambassador Hotel. Part of the larger Partnership for Economic Growth program, the initiative will see $900,000 USD allocated to 13 private local businesses, as well as the creation of 250 new full-time jobs, half of which are to be earmarked for youth and one third for women. The fund is expected to improve job opportunities for 1,300 entrepreneurs through ameliorated product distribution and investment in new technologies and processing facilities. Eligibility is determined through a competitive and transparent selection process overseen by the Partnership program, the Somaliland Chamber of Commerce, and government officials.{{cite web|title=USAID launches the first grants program for the private sector in Somaliland |url=http://eastafrica.usaid.gov/en/USAID/Article/2909/USAID_launches_the_first_grants_program_for_the_private_sector_in_Somaliland |publisher=USAID |access-date=18 July 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130218133422/http://eastafrica.usaid.gov/en/USAID/Article/2909/USAID_launches_the_first_grants_program_for_the_private_sector_in_Somaliland |archive-date=February 18, 2013 }}

File: Hargeisa bus station nigh view.jpg

Buses are the most commonly used form of public transportation in Hargeisa. They travel on a number of routes serving nearly all of the city's districts. Intercity bus services are also available, which connect Hargeisa to other major cities and towns across Somaliland, including Burao, Berbera and Borama.

With the growth of urban development, several new taxi companies have sprung up in Hargeisa.{{cite news|last=Dahir|first=Barkhad|title=Taxi companies in Hargeisa create jobs, ease travel|url=http://sabahionline.com/en_GB/articles/hoa/articles/features/2012/12/20/feature-02|access-date=18 July 2013|newspaper=Sabahi|date=20 December 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515042900/http://sabahionline.com/en_GB/articles/hoa/articles/features/2012/12/20/feature-02|archive-date=15 May 2013}}

Hargeisa Taxi is another of the recent taxi firms based in Hargeisa. It has a fleet of four small compact cars and seven passenger minivans, in addition to around 19 other vehicles. GPS devices installed by the Sahal Technology firm allow the cab company's dispatch office to monitor its taxis to ensure that they travel within the speed limit. The office can also disable the vehicles online in the event of theft. Other new taxi firms serving Hargeisa include Dalhis Taxi and Marodi Jeh Taxi. Fares are inexpensive, costing between 15,000 and 18,000 Somaliland shillings ($2–$3 USD) per ride, the US dollar is also widely accepted alongside the local currency.{{Cite web|title=Following Mobile Money in Somaliland {{!}} Rift Valley Institute|url=http://riftvalley.net/publication/following-mobile-money-somaliland|access-date=2020-11-01|website=riftvalley.net}}

For air transportation, the city is served by the Hargeisa International Airport. The Somali-owned private carriers Daallo Airlines and Jubba Airways offer flights to various other towns in neighbouring Somalia, such as Mogadishu, Bosaso and Galkayo. Trips to international destinations are also available, including to Djibouti and Dubai. It has recently{{when?|date=March 2024}} gained more airlines such as Ethiopian Airlines and flydubai.{{cite web|url=https://www.flydubai.com/en/destinations/africa/somaliland/hargeisa|title=Discover the City of Hargeisa - flydubai|website=flydubai|access-date=30 April 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171220131615/https://www.flydubai.com/en/destinations/Africa/Somaliland/Hargeisa|archive-date=20 December 2017}} However, both airlines have listed the city as being in Somalia since August 2024, following an ultimatum from the Somali government, which would have otherwise seen them prohibited from using Somali airspace.{{Cite news |last=Sipinksi |first=Dominik |date=2024-08-27 |title=Ethiopian Airlines, flydubai comply with Somali ultimatum |url=https://www.ch-aviation.com/news/144044-ethiopian-airlines-flydubai-comply-with-somali-ultimatum |access-date=2024-08-28 |work=ch-aviation}}

File:ASC Leiden - van de Bruinhorst Collection - Somaliland 2019 - 4442 - A young librarian arranging books. The National Library at Hargeysa, Somaliland.jpg in Hargeisa]]

Various primary schools and nurseries are located in Hargeisa. There are several state-run and privately owned secondary and high schools in the city. Among these are the SOS Sheikh Secondary School, Abaarso School of Science and Technology, Hargeisa Technical School, Salaama Secondary School, and Smart Secondary School, the latter of which is the pre-eminent secondary institution in the area, about {{convert|8|mi|km|abbr=on|order=flip}} west of Hargeisa.

The city is home to a number of colleges and universities including the University of Hargeisa, Admas University College, Somaliland University of Technology, Gollis University, New Generation University, Hope University and Marodijeh International University. The Edna Adan Maternity Hospital offers nursing programmes to students. The Institute for Practical Research and Training specializes in (applied) research and training.

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{{cmn|

• Ali Matan Mosque
• Baligubadle
• Berbera
• Isaaq Sultanate
• Maroodi Jeex
• Salahlay
• Sheikh Madar

}}

{{Reflist}}

• [https://web.archive.org/*/http://www.hargeisamunicipality.org Hargeisa City government website] (Archive)
• [https://ontheworldmap.com/somaliland/city/hargeisa/ Maps of Hargeisa]

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Category:British Somaliland in World War II

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Category:Populated places in Maroodi Jeex