Bosaso
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Boosaaso (formerly Bender Qaasim) (Somali: Boosaaso) is the fourth largest city in Somalia and the main port of Somalia since the start of the Somali Civil War in 1991. Situated on the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden (49°30' E and 11°30' N) at the estuary of Baalade Wadi, it is the de facto capital of the Bari region (gobolka) in the breakaway republic of Puntland.
Boosaaso governs 7 districts: Qandala, Caluula, Iskushuban, Bayla, Xaafuun, Baargaal, and Qardho. The population is 87,000. Bosaso is inhabited by a number of tribes, the largest being the Harti. Among the sub-clans, the Dashiisle are the majority, followed by the Osman Mahamoud and Ali Saleebaan .
Boosaaso currently has more than 30 primary and secondary schools, including Boosaaso Public Secondary School (with over 2000 students), Sheikh Hamdan Secondary School (approximately 800 students), and Imam-Alnawawi school. East Africa University, the main university of Puntland, is also located in Boosaaso, as well as Puntland Nursing Institute. UNCTAD, SIBA and Sunshine also provide modern education.
An all-weather highway connects Boosaaso to Garoowe (the capital of Puntland State) and from there to Mogadishu and Berbera. Boosaaso has the busiest port in Somalia, along with a major airport, Bender Qassim International Airport. Boosaaso is a rapidly growing city. As with Hargeisa and Berbera, the rapid construction in the city has been financed by Somalis living abroad in Europe and North America. Boosaaso has grown exponentially since the civil war, as it has attracted people from all over Somalia. Boosaaso is actually doing better than it did before the civil war, when it was largely neglected, and is relatively stable compared with other parts of the country.
Boosaaso is also the major port for boats carrying Somali emigrants across the Gulf of Aden to settle (sometimes illegally) in Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and the other Persian Gulf states. Khat is also shipped from the port.
History
Some historians identify the area of Boosaaso (along with the neighboring towns of Berbera and Saylac in the territory of Somaliland) with the Land of Punt, where the Ancient Egyptians as early as the Fifth dynasty sent trading expeditions. These expeditions continued under Queen Hatshepsut (1427-1458 BCE) and as late as the Twenty-sixth dynasty.
The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea indicates that ancient Greek merchants sailed to Bosaso, providing notes about the strategic and geographical location of the current Boosaaso area.
Boosaaso is the former settlement of Bender-Qassim, and was first settled in the 14th century by an Arab trader known as Qassim, who is believed to had a camel called Bosa or Boosaas. So the town was first called Bender-Qassim ("Qassim's town") then later Boosaaso, derived from his camel's name.
With the collapse of the central government and with the formation of Puntland, the city has become the capital of the northeastern regions of Somalia. In recent years, Boosaaso has evolved into a refueling station for maritime transport between the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf ports, and has also become an important commercial point of entry. The Siad Barre constructed the main port of this region in the mid-1980s, along with a two-lane highway for the annual livestock shipments to the Middle East.
External links
www.boosaaso.net and www.boosaaso.org this websites will come very soon with Boosaaso History and pictures from 1800 - 1900
It has been written by boosaaso.net editorial Team