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Architecture Of Somalia
Somali architecture is the engineering and designing of multiple different construction types such as stone cities, castles, citadels, fortresses, mosques, temples, aqueducts, lighthouses, towers and tombs during the ancient, medieval and early modern periods in Somalia and other regions inhabited by Somalis, as well as the fusion of Somalo-Islamic architecture with Western designs in contemporary times. Ancient Walled settlements, temples and tombs Some of the oldest known structures in the territory of modern-day Somalia consist of burial cairns (''taalo''). Although found throughout the country and the larger Horn of Africa region, Somalia in particular is home to numerous such archaeological structures, with many similar edifices found at Haylan, Qa’ableh, Qombo'ul, El Ayo, Damo, Maydh and Heis among other towns. However, many of these ancient structures have yet to be properly explored, a process which would help shed further light on local history and facilitate thei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abasa, Awdal
Abasa (also spelled: Abbasa, Abbaso) () is an ancient town in the northwestern Awdal region of Somaliland. In ancient times it served as the capital of both Queen Kola's Kingdom and Kingdom of Adal. Overview Abasa is situated around 50 km to the north of Borama, the capital city of the Awdal Region in Somaliland, and about 15 km to the east of Boon, Awdal. Philip Briggs (2012) describes the ruins of Abasa: "Abasa, the most impressive of the ruins around Borama, is accessible by 4x4 only. It's a bone rattling 2-hour drive that entails following the Zeila road northwest, then heading northeast to the village of Bon (or Bown), before taking a rough 15km track to the east." Abasa is situated over 1,000 m above sea level. The old town contained over 200 houses, each built with stone walls and mason ranging from single room to multi-roomed courtyard houses. Niches were cut in the walls for storage, and they were roofed with brushwood laid over wooden rafters. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wargaade Wall
Wargaade Wall, or Warqaadi, is an ancient stone construction in Wargaadhi, Hirshabelle, in Somalia. It enclosed a large settlement in the region. Overview Graves and unglazed sherds of pottery dating from antiquity have been found during excavations in the area. The wall's building material consists of rubble set in mud mortar. The high wall measures {{convert, 230, x, 210, m, abbr=on. After the settlement was abandoned during the Islamic era, the population of Wargaade began using the wall as a source for building material, which contributed to its current eroded state. References *Neville Chittick Dr. Neville H. Chittick (September 18, 1924 – July 27, 1984) was a British scholar and Archaeology, archaeologist. He specialized in the historic cultures of Northeast Africa, and also devoted various works to the Swahili Coast. Biography Chit ..., ''An Archaeological Reconnaissance of the Horn: The British-Somali Expedition'', (1975) Archaeological sites in Somalia Walls ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Courtyard
A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary architects as a typical and traditional building feature. Such spaces in inns and public buildings were often the primary meeting places for some purposes, leading to the other meanings of Court (other), court. Both of the words ''court'' and ''yard'' derive from the same root, meaning an enclosed space. See yard (land), yard and garden for the relation of this set of words. In universities courtyards are often known as quadrangle (architecture), quadrangles. Historic use Courtyards—private open spaces surrounded by walls or buildings—have been in use in residential architecture for almost as long as people have lived in constructed dwellings. The courtyard house makes its first appearance –6000 BC (calibrated), in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower Egypt were amalgamated by Menes, who is believed by the majority of List of Egyptologists, Egyptologists to have been the same person as Narmer. The history of ancient Egypt unfolded as a series of stable kingdoms interspersed by the "Periodization of ancient Egypt, Intermediate Periods" of relative instability. These stable kingdoms existed in one of three periods: the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Old Kingdom of the Early Bronze Age; the Middle Kingdom of Egypt, Middle Kingdom of the Middle Bronze Age; or the New Kingdom of Egypt, New Kingdom of the Late Bronze Age. The pinnacle of ancient Egyptian power was achieved during the New Kingdom, which extended its rule to much of Nubia and a considerable portion of the Levant. After this period, Egypt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stonemasonry
Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using rock (geology), stone as the primary material. Stonemasonry is the craft of shaping and arranging stones, often together with Mortar (masonry), mortar and even the ancient lime mortar, to wall or cover formed structures. The basic tools, methods and skills of the banker mason have existed as a trade for thousands of years. It is one of the oldest activities and professions in human history. Many of the long-lasting, ancient Shelter (building), shelters, temples, monuments, artifact (archaeology), artifacts, fortifications, roads, bridges, and entire city, cities were built of stone. Famous works of stonemasonry include Göbekli Tepe, the Egyptian pyramids, the Taj Mahal, Cusco's Incan Wall, Taq-e Bostan, Taqwesan, Easter Island's Moai, statues, Angkor Wat, Borobudur, Tihuanaco, Tenochtitlan, Persepolis, the Parthenon, Stonehenge, the Great Wall of China, the Mesoamerican pyramids, Chart ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heis (town)
Heis (, ) is a historic coastal town located in the Sanaag region of Somaliland. The town was important for trade and communication with the Somali interior and was used to export frankincense to Arabia. History Antiquity The site said to be identical with the ancient trading post of Mundus () that is described in the ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'', an anonymous account by a Greek Alexandrian salesman from the 1st century CE. A large collection of cairns of various types lie near the city. Excavations here have yielded pottery and sherds of Roman glassware from a time between the 1st and 5th centuries. Among these artefacts is high-quality millefiori glass. Dated to 0-40 CE, it features red flower disks superimposed on a green background. Additionally, an ancient fragment of a footed bowl was discovered in the surrounding area. The sherd is believed to have been made in Aswan (300-500 CE) or Lower Nubia (500-600 CE), suggesting early trading ties with kingdoms in the Nile Va ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maydh
Maydh (also transliterated as Maedh, Mette, Mait or Meit) (, ) is an ancient port city in the eastern Sanaag region of Somaliland. History Antiquity According to Augustus Henry Keane, Maydh represents an early center of dispersal of the Somali people. National genealogies collected by the scholars Cox and Abud assert that many clan patriarchs are buried in or nearby the town.A.H. Keane, Man, Past and Present', (Cambridge University Press: 1920), p.485. Medieval The city of Maydh was home to Sheikh Isaaq ibn Ahmed Al Hashimi (''Sheekh Isaxaaq''), who moved to Somaliland from the Arabian Peninsula in the 12th or 13th century CE. He is considered to be the founding father of the large Somali Isaaq clan family that predominantly inhabits Somaliland, as well as parts of Djibouti and Ethiopia. Sheikh Isaaq's domed tomb is also located here.I.M. Lewis"The Somali Conquest of the Horn of Africa", ''Journal of African History'' 1 (1960), pp. 219-220 According to tradition, the old town ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Damo, Somalia
Damo () is an ancient proto-Somali town in northeastern Somalia. It is situated in the autonomous Puntland region, 5 km west of Cape Guardafui. From late October to early December 1975, at the invitation of the Somali government, Neville Chittick led a British-Somali archaeological expedition in the northern half of Somalia. Members of the party included the Director of the Somali National Museum in Mogadishu, Sa‘id Ahmad Warsame, as well as ‘Ali ‘Abd al-Rahman and Fabby Nielson. Particular emphasis was placed on the area near Cape Guardafui in the far northeast. Financed by the Somali authorities, the survey found numerous examples of historical artefacts and structures, including ancient coins, Roman pottery, drystone buildings, cairns, masjids, walled enclosures, standing stones and platform monuments. Many of the finds were of pre-Islamic origin and associated with ancient settlements described by the 1st century ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea The ''Peripl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
El Ayo
El Ayo (, ), also known as El Ayum, is a coastal town in the eastern Sanaag region of Somaliland. History Ancient times El Ayo is one of a series of ancient settlements in Somalia. About one mile from the town are the ruins of an old city, which are held to have belonged to an earlier civilization which resided in the region. Between El Ayo and Las Khorey lies Karinhegane, the site of numerous cave paintings of real and mythical animals. Each painting has an inscription below it, which collectively have been estimated to be around 2,500 years old. Around 25 miles from Las Khorey lies Gelweita, another key rock art site. Karinhegane's rock art is in the same distinctive style as the Laas Geel cave paintings. Additionally, a number of small- to medium-sized cairns are especially concentrated on the plain that lies between the coast adjacent to El Ayo and an inland ridge around 2 km in length. Eastern Somaliland in general is home to numerous such archaeological sites, with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Qombo'ul
Qombo'ul () is a very old and historical town in the eastern Sanaag region of Somaliland. Overview Qombo'ul lies approximately 40 km east of Badhan, on the road to Bosaso and west of the town of Mindigale. An old settlement that is ancient, it is the site of quite a few ancient ruins, buildings and structures, many of obscure origins. Eastern Somaliland in general is home to numerous such archaeological sites, with similar edifices found at Haylan, Qa’ableh, Maydh, Gelweita and El Ayo. However, many of these old structures have yet to be properly explored, a process which would help shed further light on local history and facilitate their preservation for posterity.Michael Hodd, ''East African Handbook'', (Trade & Travel Publications: 1994), p.640. See also *Administrative divisions of Somaliland The administrative division of Somaliland are organized into three hierarchical levels. consists of 6 Regions of Somaliland, regions and 22 Districts of Somaliland, di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
