Eastern Africa
Discover Arba'a Rukun historic minaret, Daljirka Dahsoon, Fakhr al-Din historic portal and more.
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architecture
Arba'a Rukun is among Mogadishu's long-established Islamic places of worship. The minaret photographed in 1983 has a cylindrical shaft, a projecting balcony and a pointed cap. Isolating the tower makes its distinctive silhouette easier to spot among the old city's many layers of buildings.
Source: Federal Republic of Somalia
cultural places
Daljirka Dahsoon is a national memorial in Mogadishu. Its narrow obelisk and stepped pedestal create a clear landmark in the city. The Monument to the Unknown Soldier is among the places named by Somalia's government in its introduction to the capital.
Source: Federal Republic of Somalia
architecture
A carved pointed doorway opens into an old stone mosque in a historical view of Mogadishu.
Source: Roma Tre University, Centre for Somali Studies archive
architecture
The cathedral belongs to the architectural history of Mogadishu during the Italian colonial period. Its surviving front wall retains carved bands, pointed openings and a fragment of one tower. The ruin is a reminder that a city's heritage includes damaged places as well as intact monuments.
navigation
Mogadishu's Secondo-Lido Lighthouse was built during the Italian colonial period in the early twentieth century. Its tower served maritime navigation beside a city with much older Indian Ocean trading connections. The surviving structure links a practical coastal function with questions about architectural heritage, colonial history and the conservation of damaged places.
Source: State Party submission / UNESCO World Heritage Centre
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