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Borama

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Borama
Boorama
بوراما
Town
Ahmed Gurey district in Borama
Ahmed Gurey district in Borama
RegionAwdal
DistrictBorama
Government
 • MayorAbdirahman Shide Bile
Time zoneUTC+3 (EAT)

Borama ([Boorama] Error: {{Lang-xx}}: text has italic markup (help), Arabic: بوراما), also known as Borame, is the capital city in the northwestern Awdal province of Somaliland The commercial seat of the province, it is situated near the border with Djibouti and Ethiopia.

During the Middle Ages, Borama was ruled by the Adal Sultanate. It later formed a part of the British Somaliland protectorate in the first half of the 20th century.

The city has a population of 300,000 residents.[1] It has been a leading example in community organizing, having been the first area in northwestern Somalia to adopt a self-help scheme in the wake of the civil war.[2]

History

As with several nearby towns such as Amud, numerous archaeological finds have been discovered in the Borama area that point to an eventful past. The latter include ancient remains of tombs, houses and mosques, in addition to sherds of Oriental wares, particularly Chinese porcelain. The artefacts and structures date from various historical periods, ranging from the 12th through to the 18th centuries. Most, however, are from the 15th and 16th centuries, a time of great commercial activity in the region that is associated with the medieval Adal Sultanate.[3]

Excavations in the late 1800s and early 1900s at over fourteen sites in the vicinity of Borama unearthed, among other things, coins identified as having been derived from Kait Bey, the eighteenth Burji Mamluk Sultan of Egypt. Most of these finds were sent to the British Museum for preservation shortly after their discovery.[4]

In the first half of the 20th century, Borama formed a part of the British Somaliland protectorate. It was given district status in 1925. During the onset of World War II, the town was captured by the Italians in 1939, but was re-captured by the British the following year.

In the post-independence period, Borama was administered as part of the official Awdal administrative region of Somalia. Since the 2000s, control of the town has been disputed between Awdalland, a proposed autonomous state, and Somaliland, a self-declared republic that is internationally recognized as an autonomous region of Somalia.

Education

File:Amoud University.jpg
Amoud University in Borama.

Borama is the capital of the Awdal province. It is an important educational center and home to Amoud University, the first post-civil war institution of higher learning in Somalia, and EELO American University. The town counts six secondary schools, four of them newly-built: Al Aqsa Secondary School, Ubaya - Ibnuka'ab Secondary School, Al Nuur Secondary School and New Amoud Secondary School. The other two secondary schools in the town are the famous Sh. Ali Jowhar Secondary and Hassan Ardale Secondary School.

Borama is also home to the first school for deaf children in Somalia. Borama Deaf School trains and provides educational services for deaf children that extends to high school. Since the school is the first and only one of its kind, it has attracted a great number of deaf pupils from across the region and even beyond.

Geography

Borama is a mountainous and hilly city. It has green meadows and fields, and represents a key focal point for wildlife. The town's unusual fertility and greenery in largely arid Somalia has attracted many animals, such as gazelles, birds, and camels.

Accommodation

The Rays Hotel

In addition, the city has four major hotels: Rays Hotel is situated in the western corner of town, next to the Sheera Boorama. Cape Town Hotel, Harawa Hotel and Nasimo Hotel, for their part, are located downtown. Other notable places of accommodation include Borama Hotel and Madina Hotel, which are both situated in the city's interior.

Air service

Borama International Airport is the only airport in the Awdal region. It bears the name of Somalia's first Minister of Education, Aden Isaaq.

Airlines: Djibouti Airlines and Daallo Airlines
Destinations: Hargeisa, Bosaso, Burao, Galkacyo, Mogadishu, Djibouti, Addis Ababa, Dubai, Jeddah

Twinning

Borama is twinned with

Notes

  1. ^ Saylac News Media"[1]
  2. ^ Borama Local Council, p.10.
  3. ^ Bernard Samuel Myers, ed., Encyclopedia of World Art, Volume 13, (McGraw-Hill: 1959), p.xcii.
  4. ^ Royal Geographical Society (Great Britain), The Geographical Journal, Volume 87, (Royal Geographical Society: 1936), p.301.

References

  • The Statistical Abstract of Borama mMunicipality: Borama, Regional Capital of Awdal. Borama Local Council. 2003. {{cite book}}: |first= missing |last= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
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