Bayla ( so, Bandar Beyla, ar, بندر بيلا), is a coastal town along 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 the ...
in the northeastern
Bari
Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...
region of
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
. It is the capital of the
Bayla District
Bander Beila (chief town Bayla), also known as Bander Beyla (Italian: Bander Beila ) is a district in the northeastern Bari region of Puntland It is an old town near the Indian Ocean
The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the bod ...
.
History
Bayla is located at the headland of Ras Ma'bar (or ''Cape Ma'bar''). It historically served as an important landmark for sailors voyaging between the Arabian Peninsula and Horn of Africa.
A coastal community, Bayle is noted for its various ''
beden
The Beden, badan, or alternate type names Beden-seyed and Beden-safar, is a fast, ancient Somali single or double-masted maritime vessel and ship, typified by its towering stern-post and powerful rudder. It is also the longest surviving sewn boa ...
'', or ancient design
sewn boat
A sewn boat is a type of wooden boat which is clinker built with its planks sewn, stitched, tied, or bound together with tendons or flexible wood, such as roots and willow branches. Sewn boat construction techniques were used in many parts of the ...
s constructed without nails.
The town sustained heavy damage from the
tsunami
A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...
that followed the
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...
.
Administration
In October 2015, the Puntland government in conjunction with the local Kaalo NGO and UN-HABITAT launched a new regional census to gather basic information in order to facilitate social service planning and development, as well as tax collection in remote areas. According to senior Puntland officials, a similar survey was already carried out in towns near the principal
Garowe–Bosaso Highway
The Garowe–Bosaso Highway is a major thoroughfare in the autonomous Puntland region in northeastern Somalia. It connects the administrative capital of Garowe with the commercial hub of Bosaso, a distance of around 450 km (279.1 mi).
O ...
. The new census initiative is slated to begin in the
Bayla District
Bander Beila (chief town Bayla), also known as Bander Beyla (Italian: Bander Beila ) is a district in the northeastern Bari region of Puntland It is an old town near the Indian Ocean
The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the bod ...
, in addition to the
Eyl District
Eyl District ( so, Degmada Eyl) is a district in the northeastern Nugal region of Somalia. Its capital is Eyl
Eyl ( it, Eil) is an ancient port town in the northeastern Nugal region of Somalia in the autonomous Puntland region, also serving as ...
and
Jariban District
Jariban District ( so, District Jariiban ) is a district in the north-central Mudug region of Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of S ...
.
Demographics
Bayla has a population of around 16,700 inhabitants.
The broader Bayla District has a total population of 14,376 residents.
Education
According to the Puntland Ministry of Education, there are 13 primary schools in the Bayla District. Among these are Rasul-Macbar, Kulule, Caris and Qoton.
Notes
References
Bayla, Somalia
Populated places in Bari, Somalia
{{Somalia-geo-stub