Hargeisa: Somaliland's peaceful reconstruction

Capital of the autonomous and stable region of Somaliland, Hargeisa houses among Africa's oldest prehistoric rock art.

The center, peacefully rebuilt after civil war, is comfortably explored by local taxi.

The Memorial of the Warplane, a jet shot down during the civil war and erected on a pedestal in the city center, recalls the peaceful reconstruction following the conflict of the nineteen-eighties.

Minutes away, the Market of Hargeisa animates the trade of khat, fabrics, and local products in one of the Horn of Africas most dynamic economies.

Heading inland one can reach Laas Geel, a site with prehistoric rock paintings among the best-preserved on the entire African continent.

As evening falls, local restaurants serve grilled camel meat, a traditional specialty of Somali cuisine.

Laas Geel, discovered only in 2002 by French archaeologists, houses nearly ten thousand-year-old rock paintings depicting herds of decorated livestock, among the world's best-preserved prehistoric artistic testimonies and still little-visited.

Somaliland, though not officially recognized by the international community as an independent state, has maintained a stable and democratic administration distinct from the rest of Somalia since 1991, with regular elections and its own currency.