Hargeisa
Hargeisa (/hɑːrˈɡeɪsə/ har-GAY-sə; Somali: Hargeysa; Arabic: هرجيسا, romanized: Harjīsā)[4][5] is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Somaliland, a de facto sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still considered internationally to be part of Somalia. It is also the regional capital of the Maroodi Jeex region of Somaliland.[6][7]
Hargeisa
140 km2 (50 sq mi)
1,334 m (4,377 ft)
1,200,000
1,600/km2 (3,000/sq mi)
Hargeysaawi
هرجيساوي
+252
Hargeisa was founded as a watering and trading stop between the coast and the interior by the Isaaq Sultanate. Initially it served as a watering well for the vast livestock of the Isaaq clan that inhabited that specific region and later were joined by other Isaaq clans that currently inhabit Hargeisa. In 1960, the Somaliland Protectorate gained independence from the United Kingdom and as scheduled united days later with the Trust Territory of Somaliland (former Italian Somaliland) to form the Somali Republic on 1 July.[8] Up to 90% of the city was destroyed during the Isaaq genocide, a state-sponsored campaign of violence during the Somaliland War of Independence.
Hargeisa is situated in a valley in the Galgodon (Ogo) highlands, and sits at an elevation of 1,334 m (4,377 ft). Home to rock art from the Neolithic period, the city is also a commercial hub for precious stone-cutting, construction, retail services and trading, among other activities.[4]
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Etymology
The town evolved in the latter half of the 1800s as a Qadiriyya settlement established by Sheikh Madar, near a water-stop used by nomadic stock-herders on the way to the town of Harar. It proposes a possible derivation of the name "Hargeisa" from the sobriquet Harar as-sagir, meaning "Harar the little"[9][10] According to historian Norman Bennett, Madar named the settlement Hargeisa or Little Harar since he aspired for it to emulate the city of Harar as a center for Islamic teachings.[11] Another etymological root for Hargeisa's name derives from the towns connection to the skins trade. Hargeisa has been a watering and trading stop between the coast and the interior, and chief amongst the goods traded were the hide skins procured from the interior to be processed in the settlement. In this etymological version, 'Hargeisa' is derived from hargageys, which means "place to sell hides and skins" in Somali.[12][13][14]
Districts
According to a more recent December 2017 report from the Social Research and Development Institute (SORADI) based in Hargeisa, the city divided into eight sub-districts; being the 31 May, 26 June, Ahmed Dhagah, Ahmed Moallim Haruun, Gacan Libaax, Ibrahim Kodbuur, Mohamoud Haibe, and Mohamed Moge Districts.[49] This information is contradictory to an April 2003 report by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), which states only five sub-districts exist: being the 26 June, Ahmed Dhagah, Gacan Libaax, Ibrahim Kodbuur, and Mohamoud Haibe sub-districts, each having between four and six sub-sections of their own.[50] Presumably a redistricting occurred sometime between 2004 and 2017.[49]
Each sub-district has their own elected council members, whose responsibility is to represent their district and fulfil their populations needs.[49] To increase the effectiveness of these sub-districts, especially underrepresented ones such as Gacan Libaax, a so-called "accountability forum" has been established to discuss and create policy to better represent marginalized communities.[49]
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