Alula ( so, Caluula, ar, علولة), also spelled Aluula, is a coastal town in the northeastern Bari region and is part of the autonomous state of

Puntland Puntland ( so, Puntland, ar, أرض البنط, it, Terra di Punt or ''Paese di Punt''), officially the Puntland State of Somalia ( so, Dowlad Goboleedka Puntland ee Soomaaliya, ar, ولاية أرض البنط الصومالية), is a F ...

, on the coast of the

Guardafui Channel The Guardafui Channel ( so, Marinka Gardafuul) is an oceanic strait off the tip of the Horn of Africa that lies between the Puntland region of Somalia and Socotra to the west of the Arabian Sea. It connects the Gulf of Aden to the north with t ...

. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it served as the main capital of the

Majeerteen Sultanate The Majeerteen Sultanate ( so, Suldanadda Majeerteen 𐒈𐒚𐒐𐒆𐒖𐒒𐒖𐒆𐒆𐒖 𐒑𐒖𐒃𐒜𐒇𐒂𐒜𐒒, lit=Boqortooyada Majerteen, ar, سلطنة مجرتين), also known as Majeerteen Kingdom or Majeerteenia and Migiu ...

. It is ten miles east of Ras Filuk and 100 nautical miles from Bender Cassim.

Etymology

''Alula'' is derived from the

Somali Somali may refer to: Horn of Africa * Somalis, an inhabitant or ethnicity associated with Greater Somali Region ** Proto-Somali, the ancestors of modern Somalis ** Somali culture ** Somali cuisine ** Somali language, a Cushitic language ** Soma ...

term "lul", which means

pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium ca ...

Overview

Alula is located about west of

Cape Guardafui Cape Guardafui ( so, Gees Gardafuul, or Raas Caseyr, or Ras Asir, it, Capo Guardafui) is a headland in the autonomous Puntland region in Somalia. Coextensive with Puntland's Gardafuul administrative province, it forms the geographical apex of th ...

, at the extremity of the

Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...

. 20

nautical miles A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute ( of a degree) of latitude. Today t ...

(23 miles) east of Alula lies the coastal town of

Bereeda Bereeda ( so, Bareeda, ar, بارآدا) is a coastal town in the northeastern Bari province of Somalia. It is situated in the Alula District, which is in the autonomous Puntland region. Location Bereeda is located at , facing the Gulf of Aden ...

. 7

(8 miles) west lies Ras Filuk, the likely Cape Elephant (Elephas) of Strabo and the ''

Periplus of the Erythraean Sea The ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'' ( grc, Περίπλους τῆς Ἐρυθρᾶς Θαλάσσης, ', modern Greek '), also known by its Latin name as the , is a Greco-Roman periplus written in Koine Greek that describes navigation and ...

''. Adjacent to Alula is a shallow lagoon lined by

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in several ...

bushes, which appears to correspond with the "large laurel-grove called Acannae" also described by the ''Periplus''. The Acrocephalus warbler has been heard singing in the coastal mangroves as well. On the coastal plain 20 km to Alula's east are ruins of an ancient monument in a platform style. The structure is formed by a rectangular

drystone Dry stone, sometimes called drystack or, in Scotland, drystane, is a building method by which structures are constructed from Rock (geology), stones without any Mortar (masonry), mortar to bind them together. Dry stone structures are stable ...

wall that is low in height; the space in between is filled with rubble and manually covered with small stones. Relatively large standing stones (

menhir A menhir (from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large human-made upright stone, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. They can be fou ...

s) are also positioned on the edifice's corners. Near the platform are graves, which are outlined in stones. 24 m by 17 m in dimension, the structure is the largest of a string of ancient platform and enclosed platform monuments exclusive to far northeastern Somalia. Legendary Arab explorer

Ahmad ibn Mājid Aḥmad ibn Mājid ( ar, أحمد بن ماجد), known as "Amīr al-Baḥr al-ʿArabī" in Arabic ( ar, أمير البحر العربي), “Prince of the Sea” and known also as the ''Lion of the Sea'', was an Arab navigator and cartographer ...

wrote of Alula and a few other notable ports and landmarks of the northern Somali coast, including

Berbera Berbera (; so, Barbara, ar, بربرة) is the capital of the Sahil region of Somaliland and is the main sea port of the country. Berbera is a coastal city and was the former capital of the British Somaliland protectorate before Hargeisa. It ...

Siyara Siyara ( so, Siyaara) was a historic coastal settlement and fort located in the Sahil region of Somaliland. It served as the first capital of the Adal Sultanate following the Muslim resurgence spearheaded by Sabr ad-Din II.Pankhurst, Richard. ' ...

, Heis, and

Zeila Zeila ( so, Saylac, ar, زيلع, Zayla), also known as Zaila or Zayla, is a historical port town in the western Awdal region of Somaliland. In the Middle Ages, the Jewish traveller Benjamin of Tudela identified Zeila (or Hawilah) with the Bib ...

with its

Archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...

Ruguda Ruguda, also known as Rakudah ( so, Ruguuda) is a historic coastal port town located in the Sanaag region of Somaliland, near Heis. Overview Ruguda is a coastal town approximately 38km away from the larger Heis town nearby. Other nearby citi ...

Maydh Maydh (also transliterated as Mait or Meit) (, ) is an ancient port city in the eastern Sanaag region of Somaliland. History Antiquity According to Augustus Henry Keane, Maydh represents an early center of dispersal of the Somali people. Natio ...

El-Sheikh El-Sheikh ( so, Ceel-Sheekh) is a coastal settlement in the western edge of the Sahil region of Somaliland. History El-Sheikh was also known historically as ''Buurta Almis'' or جبل ألمس ''Jebel Amis'' after the nearby Mount Almis just so ...

and

El-Darad El-Darad ( so, Ceel Daraad) was a historic coastal settlement and fort located in the Sahil region of Somaliland. History Legendary 15th century Arab explorer Ahmad ibn Mājid wrote of El-Darad and several other notable landmarks and ports ...

. During the mid-1800s to early 1900s, Alula served as the main capital of the siwaakhroon Majeerteen clan. A castle built in the city siwaakhroon Majeerten is one of a number of local remains from this era. In the post-independence period, Alula became the principal town in the

Alula District Alula District ( so, Caluula District) is a district in the northeastern Bari region of Somalia. Its capital lies at Alula. This district contains Cape Guardafui, the very northeastern tip of the Horn of Africa. In the northeast, it faces the Gua ...

, situated in the autonomous

state. On April 8, 2013, the Puntland government announced the creation of a new region coextensive with Cape Guardafui named Gardafu. Carved out of Bari, it consists of three districts and has its capital at Alula. The new region was officially approved by legislators on July 20, 2013, during the 30th session of the Puntland parliament.

Education

Alula has a number of academic institutions. According to the Puntland Ministry of Education, there are 11 primary schools in the Alula District. Among these are Xabo,

Geesaley Geesaley ( so, Gesalay, ar, جآسالآي), also known as Gesulli, is a coastal town in the northeastern Bari province of Somalia. It is situated in the autonomous Puntland region. Home to the largest date farm in the Horn of Africa. Location G ...

, Murcanyo, Xoogad and Alula Primary.

Transportation

Air transportation in Alula is served by the Alula Airport. According to the Somali government, the town has a small

seaport A port is a maritime law, maritime facility comprising one or more Wharf, wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge Affreightment, cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can a ...

Climate

Alula has a

hot desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in deser ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

''BWh'').

Notable residents

* Wadalmuge of the

Majeerteen The Majeerteen ( so, Majeerteen, ar, ماجرتين; also spelled Majerteen, Macherten, Majertain, or Mijurtin) is a sub-clan. It is one of the major Somali groups, with a vast traditional territory spanning 3 major regions of Somalia: Bari, ...

Notes

References

Caluula
{{Authority control Populated places in Bari, Somalia Categories: Cities of the Majeerteen Sultanate