Bosaso
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Bosaso (Somali: Boosaaso; Template:Lang-ar Bawsāsū), formerly Bender Cassim (Somali: Bender Qaasim), is the third 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 autonomous republic of Puntland.
Boosaaso governs 6 districts: Qandala, Caluula, Iskushuban, Bayla,Baargaal, and Qardho. The population in August 2006 is about 400,000 up from 50,000 in the 1990s.Bosaso has the inhabitants of the most Somali clans, mostly belonging to the Harti Subclan of Darood and a significant number of Meheri Arabs, also known as (Arab Mohmud Salah). 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),Imam-Alnawawi, Alnajeh, Garisa. 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.
A highway connects Boosaaso to Garoowe (the capital of Puntland State)lasanod, Galkayo 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 which was called Mosylon in ancient times.
Boosaaso is the former settlement of Bender Cassim or Bender Qassim, and was first settled in the 14th century by an Arab trader known as Qassim, who is believed to be of Meheri origin (Arab Mohmud Salah)and 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.