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El-Darad
Place in Sahil, Somaliland From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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El-Darad (Somali: Ceel Daraad) was a historic coastal settlement and fort located in the Sahil region of Somaliland.
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History
Legendary 15th century Arab explorer Ahmad ibn Mājid wrote of El-Darad and several other notable landmarks and ports of the northern Somali coast, including Berbera, the Sa'ad ad-Din islands (aka the Zeila Archipelago near Zeila), Alula, Ruguda, Maydh, Heis, Siyara and El-Sheikh.[1]
In the 19th century, El-Darad was a seasonal coastal trading settlement with a fort made of adobe (earth) and stone masonry, which was surrounded by Somali Aqal and Areesh (traditional nomadic and coastal dwellings respectively[2]). The fort was erected in circa 1826 and was owned by Muhammad Diban, a Habr Je'lo (Adan Madobe) pirate and slave trader based in El-Darad who garrisoned the fort with slaves armed with matchlock rifles.[3] Muhammad Diban also had cordial relations with Sharmarke Ali Saleh – governor and ruler of Zeila, Berbera and Tadjoura – who provided Muhammad with five cannons after Sharmarke lost control of Berbera in 1852.[4] The town today is inhabited by the Ahmed Farah Sub-division of the Habr Je'lo Clan family.
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See also
References
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