Hafun ( so, Xaafuun; ar, حافون; grc, Οπώνη, Opṓnē, it, Dante) is a town in the northeastern

Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Ital ...

province of

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constitut ...

. Situated in

Ras Hafun Ras Hafun ( so, Ras Xaafuun, ar, رأس حـافـون, it, Capo Hafun), also known as Cape Hafun, is a promontory in the northeastern Bari region of Somalia. Jutting out into the Guardafui Channel, it constitutes the easternmost point in Afri ...

on the coast of the Guardafui Channel, it is the centre of the

Hafun District Hafun District is a district in the northeastern Bari or Puntland Region of Somalia. It faces the Guardafui Channel and its capital is Hafun. See also * Horn of Africa * Ras Hafun Ras Hafun ( so, Ras Xaafuun, ar, رأس حـافـون, it, Ca ...

, and the easternmost town in continental

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

(this means that it sees the first sunrise on the African continent). It is an ancient town previously known as Opone.

History

Hafun has been identified as the ancient trading port of Opone, which was described in the 1st century CE Greek travelogue the ''

Periplus of the Erythraean Sea The ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'' ( grc, Περίπλους τῆς Ἐρυθρᾶς Θαλάσσης, ', modern Greek '), also known by its Latin name as the , is a Greco-Roman periplus written in Koine Greek that describes navigation and ...

''. Pottery found by an expedition led by Neville Chittick, in Oponean

tomb A tomb ( grc-gre, τύμβος ''tumbos'') is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called ''immureme ...

s at Damo, date back to the Mycenaean kingdom of

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

that flourished during the 16th century BC. Merchants from as far afield as

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

and

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

also passed through the settlement. By 50 CE, the area was well known as a centre for the

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus '' Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, breakf ...

trade, along with the bartering of

clove Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands (or Moluccas) in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring or fragrance in consumer products, ...

s and other

spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices a ...

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals i ...

, exotic animal hides, and

incense Incense is aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term is used for either the material or the aroma. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremony. It may also b ...

. It also traded in tortoiseshells. During the early modern period, Hafun was part of the Majeerteen Sultanate's realm. In 1930, an Italian firm invested capital to exploit

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

deposits in Hafun and Hurdiyo. The Italians renamed the city Dante and created the biggest salt production plant in the world. By 1933 or 1934, the Hafun salt works were producing more than 200,000 tonnes of salt, most of which was exported to the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The t ...

. Following independence in 1960, the town was made the official centre of

Demographics

, Hafun had a population of around 13,200 inhabitants.

Education

According to the Puntland Ministry of Education, there are eight primary schools in

. Among these are Hurdiya, Laamiye, Gardush and Xandha.

Economy

The Hafun Fishing Company (HFC) was established in July 1992, in Bosaso. It was named after Hafun, where HFC also has an office. The firm exports a wide range of

fish Fish are Aquatic animal, aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack Limb (anatomy), limbs with Digit (anatomy), digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and Chondrichthyes, cartilaginous and bony fish as we ...

products to international markets. Among these are

lobster Lobsters are a family (Nephropidae, synonym Homaridae) of marine crustaceans. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on the sea floor. Three of their five pairs of legs have claws, including the first pair, ...

s, frozen fish, dried

shark meat Shark meat is a seafood consisting of the flesh of sharks. Several sharks are fished for human consumption, such as porbeagles, shortfin mako shark, requiem shark, and thresher shark, among others. Shark meat is popular in Asia, where it is oft ...

and fin, which it mainly sends to

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast and ...

, the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (Middle East, The Middle East). It is ...

and

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

, as well as some products to

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. The company is exploring additional global markets for its fish. In late 2014, the Udug Ltd. Company, in conjunction with the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

-based REDD Engineering & Construction Incorporated, began conducting feasibility studies for the renovation of the salt production plants in Hafun, Hurdiyo, and other littoral areas in Puntland. The first phase of the initiative was completed in March 2015 and saw the historic salt works in both towns refurbished following community-wide consultations. According to the Puntland Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, the project focuses on stimulating entrepreneurship and sustaining job creation. It was inspired by calls for national reinvestment by the Puntland presidential office and the Puntland Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, REDD Engineering official Lowry Redd indicated that the initiative's second phase aims to restore the Hafun plant to its place as one of the main global suppliers of salt.

Transportation

In 2012, the Puntland Highway Authority (PHA) announced a project to connect Hafun and other coastal towns in Puntland to the main regional highway. The thoroughfare, which is long, would link major cities in the northern part of Somalia, such as Bosaso, Galkayo and

Garowe Garowe ( so, Garoowe, ar, غَاْرَّوْؤَيَ,

, with towns in the south.

Notes

External links

Hafun, Somalia
{{Districts of Somalia Populated places in Bari, Somalia Ancient Greek geography of East Africa