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 cities and towns include Erigavo (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 ...

(389km), and

Xagal Xagal is a town in Berbera District Berbera District ( so, Degmada Barbara) is a district of the Sahil province in Somaliland. Its capital lies at Berbera. Demographics It is inhabited by people from the CIISE MUUSE, Garhajis and Habr Je'lo ...

(108km).

History

Ruguda was a well known landmark to navigators and legendary Arab explorer Ahmad ibn Mājid 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 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 Bib ...

, Siyara,

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 ...

, Alula,

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 ...

, 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 ...

. John Hanning Speke, an English 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 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 ...

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. Pe ...

References

{{Somaliland-geo-stub Populated places in Sanaag