Sheikh, Somaliland
Sheikh
Sheekh شَيخ | |
---|---|
Town | |
UTC+3 (EAT ) |
Sheikh (
The broader Sheikh District has a total population of about 33,625 residents.[2]
Description
Sheikh lies on the tarmacked road from Berbera to Burao. This so-called Burao-Berbera Highway is one of the most scenic drives in Somaliland. Coming from hot and arid Berbera the climb into the Golis Mountains starts after some 46 km at the village of Laaleys. The landscape then quickly becomes greener and, via a series of hairpin bends, the Sheikh pass is reached at about 1490 m above sea level. This is followed by a short descent to Sheikh, which lies on a plateau at about 1430 m. Actually, therefore, the Golis Mountains are not a mountain range, but the jagged northern edge of the Somali plateau.[3]
The core of the town has a rectangular street plan. There are four hotels (MashaAllah, Daalo, the Ayaan Muniiro hotel, and the large 5-storey Hashi Baroo hotel). Furthermore, there are at least two pharmacies and several shops and eateries.[4]
Sheikh used to have an airstrip; it has now fallen into disuse but is still recognizable in the landscape.[5]
Several sources indicate that Sheikh is said to contain old British colonial buildings and temple ruins similar to those on the Deccan Plateau in India.[6] These reports appear to be from an article in a Scottish geographic journal from 1898, among others.[7] In practice and on the internet, there is nothing of historical buildings or ruins to be found, and modern guidebooks describe the city as humdrum: mundane, boring.[8]
Just outside the city is the Pharo Secondary School. It is a large complex founded in 1958 as the
Demographics
As of 2019 Sheikh has an estimated population of 35,000.
Administrative division
Most maps still indicate that the
Climate
Sheikh has a warm semi-arid steppe climate (
See also
Notes
- ^ ISBN 978-1-78477-605-3.
- ^ "Regions, districts, and their populations: Somalia 2005 (draft)" (PDF). UNDP. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 July 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
- ^ Alfred E. Pease M.P., F.R.G.S. (1898): Some account of Somaliland: With notes on journeys through the Gadabürsi and western Ogaden countries, 1896–1897, Scottish Geographical Magazine, 14:2, 57-73, page 71.
- ^ Source: Google maps (July 2022).
- ^ The old airstrip is here (Bing Maps).
- ^ See eg. the Russian Wikipedia article and this travel website.
- ^ See: Alfred E. Pease M.P., F.R.G.S. (1898): Some account of Somaliland: With notes on journeys through the Gadabürsi and western Ogaden countries, 1896–1897, Scottish Geographical Magazine, 14:2, 57-73, blz 64.
- ^ See VisitHornAfrica.com, here.
- ^ SOS Sheikh Secondary School and Dick and Enid Eyeington.
- ^ See: Bandits murder two aid workers and British aid couple killed at Somali school.
- ^ Official website, accessed July 2022.
- ISBN 9781315308173.
- ^ For the existence of Sheikh district, see Article 6.1 in the Regions & Districts (Self Management) Law (Law No: 23/2002) of Somaliland. The text of this law (in Somali: XEERKA ISMAAMULKA GOBOLLADA IYO DEGMOOYINKA JSL. (XEER LR. 23/2002)) is available here and here (only in Somali). See also page 225 of Ibrahim Hashi Jama: "Somaliland Electoral Laws 2009", Somaliland Law Series, here or here.
- ^ See here (in Somali). See also here.
- ^ See "Climate: Sheikh" op Climate-data.org.
External links
- 'Zoomable' satellite imagery of Sheikh: Google Maps and Bing Maps.
- Maps of the former Sheikh District (i.e. when it was still part of the Togdheer Region) with the location of Sheikh: here and here. NB: the current Sheikh District (in the Saaxil region) is probably smaller.
- Video: a virtual drive from Sheikh to Laaleys through the Golis mountains (14 min.)
References
- Sheikh, Somalia
- Regions of Somaliland - page 8.
- The Unknown horn of africa-page 50-54.