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Photo of old stone fort

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Twolane
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Photo of old stone fort

Postby Twolane » Sat Sep 11, 2010 4:28 pm

While in northern Somalia in 1975 I came across a small stone fort. I think the river that runs through Eyl might be in the background of the picture, but I am not certain. The photo overlooks the Indian Ocean in the far background. Can anyone help me to identify the location of the fort, why the fort was built, and how old it is?

Here is the photo:

Image

Thank you very much.
Last edited by Twolane on Sat Sep 11, 2010 6:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.

paidmonk
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Re: Photo of old stone fort

Postby paidmonk » Sat Sep 11, 2010 5:20 pm

The photo you posted looks nothing like Somalia.

Below is the Fort of Sayyid Mohamed Abdullah Hassan or "The Mad Mullah" in the interior sub-section of Eyl. There is a second section of Eyl that is a few hundred meters to the east and is situated on the Indian ocean. The river does indeed run near the fort but as I stated the Indian ocean is about a half-mile to a mile further east so there is definitely visibility. The fort was of course built by Sayyid Mohamed's dervish forces as part of their defense infrastructure. It was built around 1913 I believe.

Image

Twolane
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Re: Photo of old stone fort

Postby Twolane » Sat Sep 11, 2010 6:19 pm

Thank you for your response to my question.

Yes, my photo was definitely taken in Somalia. I flew over the site myself, and took the picture. Our camp was located approximately 90 miles (145 kilometres) to the west of Eyl. Occasionally we would fly to the beach for a day off, and then fly back to our camp. The fortress was located somewhere along that flight path. Obviously, it is very close to the ocean, as the ocean sits in the background.

As I said in my first post, I think the river in the background is the one that runs through Eyl.

I have attempted to research the photo online, but so far I have had no luck finding any information. I have seen pictures of the fort you show in Eyl, but of course it is not the one in my picture, since mine sits on a bluff overlooking the river valley. I have also researched Sayyid Mohamed Abdullah Hassan on the internet, but I believe his forts were much larger than mine.

I wonder if perhaps it is of Italian origin, or perhaps British.

Were the British as far south as Eyl in Somalia? I do not know, but I do not think so.

I have looked very closely at Google satellite images of the area, and I cannot find the site of my photo.

Again, thank you very much for your response. It is much appreciated.

Here is another view of the same fort. The stone "fence" that appears to run the width of the bluff is more evident in this picture.

Image

paidmonk
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Re: Photo of old stone fort

Postby paidmonk » Sat Sep 11, 2010 10:26 pm

I looked around your blog, it looks interesting. What's your background in Somalia?

Eyl is a mysterious area covered in rocky terrain, its a very interesting looking on satellites. I'll try to locate your fort, I always find strange buildings around Bari and Nugaal regions.

If you have old pictures of Somalia, you should post them, I saw some interesting pictures of Mogadishu on your blog.

vangandi
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Re: Photo of old stone fort

Postby vangandi » Sat Sep 11, 2010 10:32 pm

There are a "lot" of unknown dwellings/structures built on hills all over northern Somalia. Many of which are dug up/destroyed in search of treasure. Somalis consider buriels of the galla/pre-Somalis who settled there.

Twolane
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Re: Photo of old stone fort

Postby Twolane » Sun Sep 12, 2010 9:21 am

I looked around your blog, it looks interesting. What's your background in Somalia?
In 1974/75, as a helicopter pilot, I was sent to Somalia by the helicopter company I worked for. Conoco/Continental was doing geological exploration in the area west of Eyl. We worked for them.

You can see what is left of our old camp and the airstrip used by Somali Air's DC-3 to service our camp. The location is approximately 90 miles (145 kilometres) west of Eyl.

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=8.5245786&lon ... =0&m=s&v=9

I was in Somalia for a very short time, about three months. During that time I visited Mogadishu and Djibouti. Most of my time was spent flying around the area of our camp. I have many pictures of our camp. Unfortunately, I do not have many photos of Mogadishu, since at that time it was forbidden to take pictures in public. I also have photos taken in Djibouti.

If people would like to see my pictures, I would be pleased to put them up on another site that I will make just for them. I will try to put notes on where they were taken, but after 35 years my memories of the pictures are not so good.

Thanks to all of you for your comments.

Twolane
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Re: Photo of old stone fort

Postby Twolane » Mon Sep 20, 2010 6:25 pm

I've put up some of my Somalia, Djibouti and Nairobi pictures from 1975. I hope any viewers won't be disappointed at the results, since I was never a great photographer.

The pictures are re-photographed from slides, thus the poor quality of some of them. (And poor quality of the photographer also.)

http://somalia.twolaneroads.com

vangandi
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Re: Photo of old stone fort

Postby vangandi » Mon Sep 20, 2010 6:51 pm

I've put up some of my Somalia, Djibouti and Nairobi pictures from 1975. I hope any viewers won't be disappointed at the results, since I was never a great photographer.

The pictures are re-photographed from slides, thus the poor quality of some of them. (And poor quality of the photographer also.)

http://somalia.twolaneroads.com

Nice pics paidmonk aka twoane

Twolane
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Re: Photo of old stone fort

Postby Twolane » Mon Sep 20, 2010 7:05 pm

Nice pics paidmonk aka twoane
Actually, vagandi, if you check my About page you'll see that you're wrong. But that's okay, as long as you enjoy the photos, that's all that matters.

http://somalia.twolaneroads.com/about/

Twolane
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The fort is in Gabbac, Nugaal

Postby Twolane » Tue Feb 08, 2011 5:22 pm

As of today, February 8, 2011 I have located the fort in Google Earth. It is located at Gabbac, Nugaal, 27 kilometers north of Dag Lahaa. I would like to thank paidmonk and vangandi for taking the time and showing interest to comment on my quest to find the location of the fort. It is much appreciated.

Here is the Google Earth satellite image of the fort. It is not viewable in currently available satellite imagery due to cloud cover. You must choose satellite images dated 11/3/2004 or 12/14/2004 in Google Earth. The co-ordinates of the fort are as follows: 8°08'47.91" N 50°02'26.36" E


Image

And here are two photographs taken in 1975 from my helicopter:

Image

Image
Last edited by Twolane on Tue Feb 08, 2011 7:34 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Jamac_Yare
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Re: Photo of old stone fort

Postby Jamac_Yare » Tue Feb 08, 2011 5:35 pm

While in northern Somalia in 1975 I came across a small stone fort. I think the river that runs through Eyl might be in the background of the picture, but I am not certain. The photo overlooks the Indian Ocean in the far background. Can anyone help me to identify the location of the fort, why the fort was built, and how old it is?

Here is the photo:

Image

Thank you very much.

looks like giant ant hill mate

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damu
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Re: Photo of old stone fort

Postby damu » Tue Feb 08, 2011 5:37 pm

the building looks more like a guard tower like this one in bosaso

Image

Twolane
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Re: Photo of old stone fort

Postby Twolane » Tue Feb 08, 2011 5:55 pm

the building looks more like a guard tower like this one in bosaso
I have no idea, but it could very well be.

I suspect that my fort could have been constructed at Gabbac during the Dervish uprising in the early 20th century. Because it is on prominent high ground, I wonder if it was constructed by the British, since some of their forts were built to guard inland routes.

Thank you for showing interest.

Twolane
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Joined: Sat Sep 11, 2010 4:17 pm

Re: Photo of old stone fort

Postby Twolane » Tue Feb 08, 2011 6:01 pm

looks like giant ant hill mate
No, it doesn't. I have seen the giant ant hills in Somalia. In no way does the fort resemble a giant ant hill, but thanks for pointing out that misconception.


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