Mogadishu, Somalia
Greetings from Mogadishu, Somalia!
I landed yesterday morning on the daily nonstop flight from Istanbul.
As much as I love figuring things out as I go, this is not a place where that’s possible. So, I booked a stay at the Peace Hotel and asked them to arrange my visa invitation letter, airport transportation, and Mogadishu tour. This hotel comes recommended by basically every travel content creator that’s been here, so I knew I’d be in good hands here. It’s not cheap— full board accommodation is $150 a night, transportation $1200 a day, and round trip airport transfers are $400. This was by far the most expensive day I’ve ever paid for, but it thankfully ended up being very much worth it!
And they were 100% right. Fatima at the front desk was invaluable in booking everything for me on 2 days notice, and Ahmed was an excellent guide around the city.
On arrival, I had to show my letter of invitation and then wait about 10 minutes for a visa sticker to be placed in my passport. Then, Ahmed met me and took me on the 3 minute— heavily fortified — ride to the hotel. Many foreigners (including the Turkish Airlines flight attendants) never even leave the airport complex since there’s a hotel and offices there.
When I got to the hotel, Fatima showed me to my room and pointed out the safe room. My room was super comfortable and clean, and the Wi-Fi top notch. Then, I rested a bit before getting a pre-tour briefing with the hotel’s owner: Bashir. Bashir took me to his security room, where he showed me all of the cameras his team has around the city streaming back to him and a map of all the attacks that have ever happened in Mogadishu.
Then, I hopped in the car with Ahmed to kick off the tour. I must explain that this isn’t your standard tour. I was placed in a hard-sided vehicle which was escorted by a pickup truck full of guys with guns. It might seem like overkill, but this hotel says guests have never had any issue, so it must be working. When we got to each stop, the gentleman got off of the truck, do a “sweep” of the area, and then I was be allowed to leave the car.
Our first stop was the fish market. I had no idea, but Somalia has the largest coastline of any African nation, so they have a huge variety of high quality fish here. Then, we went to see the lighthouse, which many sources say was built by the Italians during their time in Somalia. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to go to the beach right by the lighthouse because “there are people smoking ganja, and they can be unpredictable.” I kid you not: that was the justification, but I wasn’t going to argue with the experts. Instead, we went to a cliff a bit higher up to get this view.
We then went to Lido Beach, which has gorgeous turquoise waters and seems to be very popular among locals. Then, we stood outside the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, honoring those who died in Somalia’s conflicts, before going to the Peace Park. This park is a small refuge from the city's bustling streets and is supposedly quite popular on the weekends.
Ahmed then took me to an apartment building roof to see the city and beach. It was fantastic to see a helicopter land at the airport from here and the new nosque. We then went to visit the mosque before heading back to the hotel for lunch.
After lunch, the hotel owner Bashir took me in his car (of course led by the pickup truck) 7km out of town to his beach. He bought this parcel about 7 years ago, back when the security situation was so bad he could barely get out there himself. He built a nice cafe and planted trees so people can come on the weekend and enjoy the water. It’s amazing how a coastline as gorgeous as this just sits empty. He also built a fish processing plant on the far side of the property and plans to construct some hotel rooms too. Sitting here, watching the waves, enjoying the breeze, and talking with Bashir was quite pleasant. He’s an impressive businessman and wants the best for his country.
We then headed back to the hotel. I got some work done before going to dinner. I chose to have spinach, camel, and local bread. All the food I had here was so flavorful. At dinner, I met an aid worker from India who is here for 6 weeks on a temporary assignment. As an aid worker, she’s not allowed to leave the compound at all. So, the fact the food is good here is an absolute saving grace. She’s been living in Afghanistan for the past few years, and it was insightful to hear about life there during the Taliban takeover. She told me corruption is now non-existent, it’s just as safe as before, and the violence comes from fringe groups. These are the sorts of stories you don’t hear from mainstream sources.
I went to bed late after booking my flight out to Johannesburg. So, I’m taking a 6pm flight to Addis Ababa and then connecting a couple of hours later to South Africa.
I’m not sure if I’ll be in Somalia again anytime soon, but I’m grateful for the experience I’ve had here. It’s been eye-opening in a similar way to Mosul, Iraq. Even under some of the direst of circumstances, life prevails.
Update: The airport experience leaving Mogadishu was insanely strict. I’ve never experienced anything like it, granted I haven’t been to places like Yemen or Afghanistan. There are multiple checkpoints before you get into the airport (including a dog inspection), then multiple document checks, and security requires 2 bag scans and a very thorough manual search. After all that, you have to leave all your carry on bags at the front of the gate area, meaning you can’t sit with them when waiting for your plane. This is so that the dog can check out the bags once again. Fascinatingly, Ethiopian Airlines also takes unmarked, plain white planes on their flights here into Mogadishu.
Somalia is UN country #67/193 and TCC Region #84/330 for me.