Badhan, Sanaag
| Badhan Baran برن | |
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| Coordinates: 10°42′50″N 48°20′5″E / 10.71389°N 48.33472°E | |
| Country | |
| Somalia | Sanaag |
| District | District of Badhan |
| Population (2007) | |
| • Total | 120,000 |
| Time zone | +3 |
Badhan or Baran (Somali: Badhan; Arabic: برن, Baran; Italian: Badhan) is a city and district in the Sanaag region, a territory in north Eastern Somalia. In July 2007, the district became the capital city of the autonomous Maakhir(Maakhir has rejoined Puntland since January 2009) region of Somalia. Since the start of the Somali civil war, the city has grown to include, among other things, a hospital, three secondary schools, as well as a university in the works since the Maakhir regional authorities was planning to open another University in Buraan, another city towards the East of Sanaag, however that has never happened. Badhan consists of four main neighbourhoods - Qudloho, Upper Market, Lower Market and New Badhan.
History of Badhan
Old Badhan is about 150 years old. The town used to be located in the settlement of Hubeera, which is now located in lowland. It was always in danger of flooding during the raining seasons. About 40 years ago, the town was re-located near a borewell called Badhan and it has assumed the name ever since. The area was first settled in the 14th century by Somali herdsmen from the Warsangali subclan of the Darod clan, as there was water available for their flocks.
Badhan is also famous for being the stage of battles between the Dervishes of Mohammed Abdullah Hassan and the Sultanate of Warsangeli. Hassan, the leader of Dervishes, ordered the construction of a new grand fort in the city. Nowadays, the fort is in need of restoration, as time has worn it down.
Local government
The local Clan elders whom facilitated the current elected district members and district commissioner will served in partnership with Local Government and the community in all matters relating to disputes in trade, property, crime and land distribution.
Generally districts in Somalia, the DC positions used to be powerful in local affairs but this has declined since the civil war, therefore, the commissioner’s level of powers are limited in terms of the scope of his position given the current Somali political situation.
District Council Seats
| The newly established council members are designated by lineage and clan, the district members consist of larger number of women, this is first of its kind in Somalia as whole. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Women's Seats | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Panorama
Education
Horn Relief has its main office in the city and it also runs, among other essential services, a Pastoralist Youth Leadership program for the local pastoralist community around the environs of Badhan City.
As of 2008, there are about 5 linguistic private schools which mostly teach Arabic and English. The most well-known language schools operating in Badhan are Lafoole English School and Tawakal English learning centre.
Primary to High School
- Alfurqan Primary and Elementary School
- Alnour Primary and Elementary School
- Sinai Primary and Elementary School
- Alfurqan High School
- Alnour High School
- Badhan High School
Post Secondary Institutions
- Lafole School of Languages
- Tawakal School of Languages
- Haji Ayan Community College
- Iqra Institute for Higher Education
- Maakhir University
Transportation
Land
The road that links Badhan to Laasqoray which locals called Geeldora Road is 95 km away. Approximately 60 km of the road traverses the hilly terrains that form Cal Madow Mountains. The existing road is an earth road which is in poor state and especially on the mountainous areas where traffic is ‘one way’. On the flat sections, the road crosses several dry river beds on the first few kilometers after Badhan and just before Laasqoray. The drainage structures / run-off water channels are either poorly formed or collapsed in most of the areas.
Condition of the Road
After the 50th kilometer,From Badhan, the terrain is mostly downhill. One noticeable feature is that there is an increasingly large number of turns that are much tighter when going downhill compared to the general uphill section from Km 19 to Km 50 when coming from Badhan. Again, cut slope angles need to be improved throughout the section.
The downhill terrain continues until Km 72.5 from Badhan where the terrain is flat and with loose stones on approaching a dry river bed at Km 73, the upstream edge of the road at that section had some protective gabions which built by the former Somali government. When leaving the river bed, the approach going up was noted to be narrow. Between Km 77.2 and Km 77.3, again coming from Badhan, the road crosses 3 other river beds. From the last dry river bed crossing on that section, the road route runs almost parallel to the river all the way to Laasqoray. The terrain thereon to Laasqoray is flat.
Air
The airstrip is located within the centre of the city and runs on the South-eastern bound. It is 2 km long and 65m wide. The grade along the runway rises evenly at approximately 3% and slopes across the runway towards the right at approximately 1.5%. There is a storage / parking / re-fuelling area midway along the runway but no buildings / offices. The airstrip has no storm drain system and most of the edge marker stones are either covered with grass or missing.
The runway wearing course is made of in-situ gravel material. Most of the runway surface is covered in silt and overgrown with grass. The underlying rock layer has been exposed on approximately 20% of the entire runway surface. The landing strip was the hub for UN and operations during 1993-1996 but had fallen into despair since then, however local NGOs are planning to renovate and rebuild it.
Conditions of the Airport
Repair
With no borrow pits near-by, the best approach to rehabilitating the airstrip would be to strip the runway surface of grass and silt, scarify 100–150 mm, shape and compact the surface. A side drain should be excavated for on the LHS with scour checks provided at 50m intervals while mitre drains should be provided on the RHS at 100m intervals. The water mains cutting across the runway should be protected; by providing a plastic (PVC) sleeve and haunching (surround) the sleeve with concrete. The PVC pipe size should be reasonable enough so as to act as a service duct for further use in future.
Edge markers should also be provided on both edges of the runway. Well arranged stones should be placed at 10 m intervals and painted red every 50 m. The access roads should also be diverted to a single service road on either side of the runway / airstrip area to avoid vehicular traffic going across the airstrip. At some point, an office building will be required at the very least to house communication equipment and maintain records.
Public services
Badhan has the largest hospital in Sanaag region, built by the Diaspora of the Region, sadly the hospital is closed since February 2009 due lack of funding and now the local community is left to face the daunting task of taking their sick to Bosaso in Bari region. The hospital used to offer all the basic medical needs and it has a Maternity ward but that now is closed too. The local MCH is serving the locals and the city has also many pharmacies which offer first aid and other light medical attention.
Business in Badhan
Badhan, being a save haven for many Somalis, subsequently ballooned in size from a city to a population of over 113,000 and counting.
Some small scale business ventures started flourishing, mainly because the location of the city in the middle of Sanaag region and growing local inhabitant, business such as small market for fresh milk, meet and locally produced vegetables have become commonly available in the town.
New hotel with three floors opened its door in 2009,built by local businessman who is from Cardiff, in Wales, UK.
Entertainment in Badhan
Badhan has green mountains on the west side popularly known as the Cal Madow towards the city of Laasqoray, while the sea with white beaches, crystal clear water, and a kaleidoscopic reef, is situated just across the mountains of Laasqoray. In the city there are many activities one can do while on vacation like visit coffee shops where khat is consumed, or drop in on an Internet café. There are also many hotels and guest houses.
The best period to visit this city is during September–May during the rain season as the heat in the summer is unbearable for outsiders. On the outskirts of the city are rock mountains, grassland with wildlife and unique trees—a panoramic view.
Communication
Badhan has a modern telephone system which most residents in the town is able to utilize, the Local Communication company is called Golis Telecom, a subsidiary of Golis Telesom, based in Bosaso. Landline telephone system and mobile with some access to the Internet are very common in Badhan cafes.
Galery
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School girls from Alfurqan Secondary School in cultural event, Badhan, Sanaag, Somalia
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School girls from Alfurqan Secondary School in cultural event,
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School girls from Alfurqan secondary School performing Somali Folk dance
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Alnur Secondary School in Badhan
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Alnur Secondary School in Badhan
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a uniquely designed veranda, Badhan, Sanaag
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house in Badhan
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Local government Building in Badhan, Sanaag, Somalia
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Another uniquely designed house in Badhan
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East of the town of Badhan, Somalia
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uniquely designed house in Badhan, Sanaag, Somalia
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Another locally designed in Badhan, Sanaag, Somalia
Climate
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References
Coordinates: 10°42′50″N 048°20′05″E / 10.71389°N 48.33472°E