Catching up with Kismayo
After about five years away, I traveled back to the coastal city of Kismayo, the capital city of the Lower Jubba region as well as the interim capital of Jubaland state. It was my fourth trip to the city. I traveled to the city in 2014, 2015, and 2016. Sayid Mohamed Abdulle Hassan, the famous […]
Feeling the heat at the border: my visit to Dolow
I have had the privilege to travel to many towns in Somalia in the past eight years, but I did not visit any of the towns in the Gedo region. Recently, however, I had an assignment in the border town of Dolow, and everyone I asked told me that it is the safest town in […]
Back in Beledweyne: Vivid Memories, Inspiring Stories, and a Bright Future
After almost three years away (two years and 9 months to be exact), I traveled back to Beledweyne for a short assignment. The last time I was there was in December 2018. That previous trip was my first return to the town after 8 years away. At that time, I wrote a blog post titled […]
Getting back to Baidoa: a changing city
I have been occasionally traveling to Baidoa since 2014. It is a nice, cool town, and its people are welcoming. It is always great to go back to the city and keep up with the great development going on. The last time I visited Baidoa was January 2021 when I was doing field research on […]
Bitter-sweet lessons of Jowhar
Although I have travelled to many Somali cities in the past eight years, I had never been to Jowhar, the capital city of Middle Shabelle region. Jowhar is also the capital city of Hirshabelle state – the newest federal unit – which was established in October 2016. I was excited that I was finally traveling […]
Back to Buulaburte: Bringing back memories after ten years away
Going back to Buulaburte – my hometown – had a lot of emotional attachments. The last time I was in the city was August 2010, when I was about to start my sophomore year at Mogadishu University. I was now going back to the town after ten years and six months (or 10.5 years) on […]