Ruguda, also known as Rakudah ( so, Ruguuda) is a historic coastal port town located in the

Sanaag Sanag ( so, Sanaag, ar, سَنَاج) is an administrative region (''Administrative divisions of Somaliland, gobol'') in north eastern Somaliland.Somaliland Somaliland,; ar, صوماليلاند ', ' officially the Republic of Somaliland,, ar, جمهورية صوماليلاند, link=no ''Jumhūrīyat Ṣūmālīlānd'' is a ''de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still conside ...

, near Heis.

Overview

Ruguda is a coastal town approximately 38km away from the larger Heis town nearby. Other nearby cities and towns include

Erigavo Erigavo ( so, Ceerigaabo, ), also spelled as Erigabo, is the capital and largest city of the Sanaag region of Somaliland. History The Erigavo settlement is several centuries old. The surrounding area was supposedly built by the Madigan Dir. ...

(134km),

Burao Burao, also spelt Bur'o or Bur'ao (; so, Burco, , ar, برعو) is the capital of the Togdheer region and the second largest city in Somaliland. Burao was also the third largest city of Somalia. Burao was the site of the declaration of an in ...

(389km), and

Xagal Xagal is a town in Berbera District, in the Sahil, Somaliland, Sahil Region of Somaliland. References

Populated places in Sahil, Somaliland {{Somaliland-geo-stub ...

(108km).

History

Ruguda was a well known landmark to navigators and 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 Ruguda and a few other many notable landmarks and ports 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 ...

, the

Sa'ad ad-Din islands The Sa'ad ad-Din Islands ( so, Jasiirada Sacadadiin, ar, جزر سعد الدين), also Romanized as and known as the Zeila Archipelago, are a group of islands off the northern coast of Somaliland. They are situated near the ancient city of Z ...

aka the Zeila Archipelago near

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 Bibli ...

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. ''T ...

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. Nationa ...

Alula The alula , or bastard wing, (plural ''alulae'') is a small projection on the anterior edge of the wing of modern birds and a few non-avian dinosaurs. The word is Latin and means "winglet"; it is the diminutive of ''ala'', meaning "wing". The al ...

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 s ...

, Heis 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 of ...

. John Hanning Speke, an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

explorer who made an exploratory expedition to the area in an attempt to reach the Nugaal Valley, described the port town:

Demographics

Ruguda is populated by the

Sanbuur The Sanbur ( so, Sanbuur, ar, صنبور, Full Name: ''Ibrāhīm ibn ash-Shaykh Isḥāq ibn Aḥmad'') is a major clan of the wider Isaaq clan family. Its members form part of the larger Habr Habusheed confederation along with the Habr Je'lo, ...

sub-division of the

Habr Je'lo The Habr Je'lo ( so, Habar Jeclo, ar, هبر جعلو , Full Name: ''Mūsa ibn ash-Shaykh Isḥāq ibn Aḥmad,'' historically known as the Habr Toljaala ( so, Habar Toljeclo) is a major sub-tribe of the wider Isaaq family. Its members form p ...

Isaaq The Isaaq (also Isaq, Ishaak, Isaac) ( so, Reer Sheekh Isxaaq, ar, بني إسحاق, Banī Isḥāq) is a Somali clan. It is one of the major Somali clans in the Horn of Africa, with a large and densely populated traditional territory. Per ...

References

{{Somaliland-geo-stub Populated places in Sanaag