Mogadishu

مقديشو
مقديشو
	Mogadishu's location in Somalia
	Coordinates: Coordinates: 2°02′N 45°21′E / 2.033°N 45.350°E
Country	Somalia
Region	Banadir
Government
• Mayor	Omar Mohamud Mohamed
• Police chief	Abdi Hasan Awale Qeybdiid
Population (2009)
• Total	2,950,000
Time zone	UTC+2 (EAT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EAT)

Mogadishu (Somali: Muqdisho) is the capital city of the African country of Somalia. It is also the largest city in that country. It is located in the coastal Banadir region on the Somali Sea. The city has been an important port for the region for many centuries.^[1] Estimates of the city's population are between 1.5 and 3 million people.

History

Trade between the people in the Mogadishu area with other areas along the Somali Sea coast of East Africa started as early as the 1st century. Muslim traders from the Arabian Peninsula came to the area during the 10th century. Because of trade with them, Islam spread through Somalia. The Portuguese tried to take control of the city, but failed. In 1871 Barghash bin Said, the sultan of Zanzibar, controlled the city.

In 1892, Ali bin Said let Italy use the city. Italy bought the city in 1905. They made Mogadiscio (Italian for Mogadishu) the capital of Italian Somaliland. The Italians took control of the area around the city in 1919 after minor resistance. Italian Mogadiscio grew from a small village of 1,000 inhabitants in the 1890s to a modern capital in 1940 of nearly 100,000 persons (of whom more than 1/3 were Italians), that was second only to Asmara in Eritrea for development inside the Italian Empire.

British forces that were in Kenya during World War II captured Mogadishu on February 26, 1941. The British ruled until they gave Italy control of the city again in 1952. Somalia became independent in 1960 with Mogadishu as its capital.

Rebel forces entered and took the city in 1990. They forced President Mohamed Siad Barre to resign and leave the country in January 1991. He went to Lagos, Nigeria. Some of the rebels said that Ali Mahdi Muhammad was the new president. Others said that Mohamed Farrah Aidid was president. A group of United States Marines landed near Mogadishu on December 9, 1992. They were the first part of the United Nations peacekeeping forces during Operation Restore Hope to go to the country. Mogadishu has had many years of civil war. This is because the government of Somalia fell in 1991. This has included many suicide bombings by jihadist group al-Shabaab. In 2017, an al-Shabaab suicide bomber killed over 500 people.

Economy

Mogadishu is a commercial and financial center for Somalia. The economy got better after the Somali Civil War but there are still problems. Because the government does not have control of the whole country, there is less taxation or regulatory costs. This makes businesses not cost as much as it does in other places. Businesses have hired armed militias to have security. This is reducing violence in the city.

The main industries of the city include making food and beverages as well as textiles. The main textile is cotton. The main market many different types of goods from food to electronic items.

Mogadishu has the most port traffic of any port in Somalia. It is still a major seaport. However, there has been a lot of piracy around Somalia's coastal areas. This makes trade risky.

Notable people

Ali Mohammed Ghedi, former Prime Minister of Somalia
Ayub Daud, professional footballer
Barkhad Abdi, actor, film director and producer
Cristina Ali Farah, author and intellectual
Diriye Osman, writer and visual artist
Elisa Kadigia Bove, actress and activist
Faisal Jeylani Aweys, taekwondo practitioner
Fatima Siad, fashion model
Hassan Abshir Farah, MP, former Prime Minister of Somalia and former Mayor of Mogadishu
Hawa Abdi, physician and social activist
Iman, supermodel
K'naan, award-winning musician
Ladan Osman, poet
Sir Mohamed Farah, international track and field athlete
Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, former Prime Minister and former President of Somalia
Mohamed Nur, former Mayor of Mogadishu
Musse Olol, engineer and social activist
Mustafa Mohamed, professional athlete
Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, former Prime Minister of Somalia
Rageh Omaar, award-winning journalist
Sa'id of Mogadishu, 14th century Islamic scholar and traveler
Saba Anglana, international singer and actress
Shaykh Sufi, 19th-century scholar, poet, reformist and astrologist
Yasmin Warsame, supermodel
Yasmine Allas, actress and writer
Zahra Bani, professional athlete

Mogadishu Media

19th century engraving of the 13th century Fakr ad-Din Mosque built by Fakr ad-Din, the first Sultan of the Sultanate of Mogadishu
Mogadishan currency
Entrance of a coral stone house in Mogadishu
Flag of the Mogadishu area according to a 1576 map by Fernão Vaz Dourado
ancient Almnara tower in Somalia
A picture of Sef bin Ahmed in the year 1891, the brother of the former Omani appointed representative to Mogadishu
A group of senior Somali officials recently returned from Italy in Mogadishu, 1939.
Mogadishu avenue, 1963, with the Arba Rucun mosque in the background
Metropolitan Mogadishu in the 1980s
A view over destroyed Mogadishu coast during the civil war