Amud

Amud
—  Town  —
Country  Somalia
Region Awdal
Time zone EAT (UTC+3)

Amud or Amoud (Somali: Amuud) is an ancient town in the northwestern Awdal region of Somalia.[1] It was a center of activity during the Golden Age of the Adal Sultanate. The town is situated 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) above sea level.

Contents

Old city

The old section of the city spans 25 acres (100,000 m2) and contains hundreds of ancient ruins of multi-roomed courtyard houses, stone walls, complex mosques, and other archaeological remains, including intricate colored glass bracelets and Chinese ceramics.[2]

Pilgrimage sites

The old city is home to several historic pilgrimage sites belonging to celebrated Somali Saints, the most prominent being Saint Sau, Saint Amud and Saint Sharlagamadi. During his research in the area, the historian G.W.B. Huntingford noticed that whenever a historic site had the prefix Aw in its name (such as the ruins of Aw Bare), it denoted the final resting place of a local Saint.[3]

Modern

Amud is also home to the University of Amoud, which is listed as one of the top 100 universities in Africa.[4]

References

  1. ^ Damtew Teferra, African higher education: an international reference handbook, (Indiana University Press: 2003)
  2. ^ The Archaeology of Islam in Sub Saharan Africa, p. 72/73
  3. ^ Huntingford, "The town of Amud, Somalia", Azania, 13 (1978), p. 184
  4. ^ World Universities' ranking on the Web: Top Africa