In the granite massif of Laas Geel, cave paintings believed to be 5000 years old testify to the craftsmanship of early civilization here.
Bild: Picture Alliance
Somaliland offers travelers a tempting proposition: to discover a country that officially doesn’t exist. Notes from a trip along the country’s only expressway – from the capital to the Red Sea.
GProtected from the demands of the big city, the Maansoor Hotel welcomes its guests behind walls and a security gate. Behind it is an arrangement of bungalows, conference center, ambitious lawn and cold drinks. Mustafa Ismail is waiting in the café. The diplomat asks whether his Somaliland has received the guest well, stands up to greet him and blinks his blue eyes in the midday sun.
Ismail is also visiting, actually lives in Göttingen and is the representative of his homeland in Germany. He is not allowed to call himself ambassador because Berlin does not recognize Somaliland as an independent state. “As long as we recognize each other, it doesn’t matter whether others accept it,” Ismail dismisses. In general, the people here are patient. “Without hope none of this could exist.”