Borama

Borama Boorama بوراما
City
Flag
Nickname(s): 'The center of education.'
Borama Location in Somaliland
Coordinates:
Country	Somaliland
Region	Awdal
District	Borama
Government
• Mayor	Mohamed Hassan Maidane
Population
• Estimate (2005)	410,453
• Rural	132,695
Time zone	EAT (UTC+3)
Climate	BSh

Borama (Somali: Boorama, Arabic: بوراما‎‎), also known as Borame, is the capital and the largest city of the northwestern Awdal of Somaliland, a self-declared republic internationally recognized as an autonomous region of Somalia. The commercial seat of the province, it is situated near the border with Ethiopia.. It is situated in the Woqooyi Galbeed province.

During the Middle Ages, Borama was ruled by the Adal Sultanate. It later formed a part of the British Somaliland protectorate in the first half of the 20th century.

The city has a population of around 215,616 residents. It has been a leading example in community organizing, having been the first area in northwestern Somalia to adopt a self-help scheme in the wake of the civil war.

History

Main articles: Adal Sultanate and Somali aristocratic and court titles

As with several nearby towns such as Amud, numerous archaeological finds have been discovered in the Borama area that point to an eventful past. The latter include ancient remains of tombs, houses and mosques, in addition to sherds of Oriental wares, particularly Chinese porcelain. The artefacts and structures date from various historical periods, ranging from the 12th through to the 18th centuries. Most, however, are from the 15th and 16th centuries, a time of great commercial activity in the region that is associated with the medieval Adal Sultanate.

Excavations in the late 1800s and early 1900s at over fourteen sites in the vicinity of Borama unearthed, among other things, coins identified as having been derived from Kait Bey, the eighteenth Burji Mamluk Sultan of Egypt. Most of these finds were sent to the British Museum for preservation shortly after their discovery.

In the first half of the 20th century, Borama formed a part of the British Somaliland protectorate. It was later given district status in 1925.

In 1933, Sheikh Abdurahman Sheikh Nuur, a Qur'anic teacher and son of Borama's qadi (judge), devised a new orthography for transcribing the Afro-Asiatic Somali language. A quite accurate phonetic writing system, this Borama script was principally used by Nuur and his circle of associates in the city. The alphabet is also generally known as the Gadabuursi script.

During the onset of World War II, the town was captured by the Italians. It was re-captured by the British the following year, in 1940. In the post-independence period, Borama was administered as part of the official Awdal administrative region of Somalia. During the Ogaden War in the late 1970s, Borama was one of several northern cities that was aerially bombarded by Ethiopian forces.

Since the 2000s, control of the town has been disputed between Awdalland, a proposed autonomous state, and Somaliland, a self-declared republic that is internationally recognized as an autonomous region of Somalia.

Geography

Location and habitat

Borama is situated in northwestern Somalia, in a mountainous and hilly area. It has green meadows and fields, and represents a key focal point for wildlife. The town's unusual fertility and greenery in the largely arid countryside has attracted many fauna, such as gazelles, birds and camels.

Climate

The prevailing climate in Borama is known as a local steppe climate. The warmest month of the year is June with an average temperature of 24.1 °C. In January, the average temperature is 17.1 °C. It is the lowest average temperature of the whole year and the difference in precipitation between the driest month and the wettest month is 110 mm. The average temperatures vary during the year by 7 °C.

Climate data for Borama
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	24.6 (76.3)	25.4 (77.7)	27.5 (81.5)	27.8 (82)	29.3 (84.7)	30.0 (86)	28.8 (83.8)	28.8 (83.8)	29.0 (84.2)	27.4 (81.3)	25.8 (78.4)	24.4 (75.9)	27.4 (81.3)
Average low °C (°F)	9.7 (49.5)	11.7 (53.1)	13.8 (56.8)	15.7 (60.3)	17.0 (62.6)	18.3 (64.9)	17.8 (64)	17.6 (63.7)	17.3 (63.1)	13.7 (56.7)	11.3 (52.3)	10.4 (50.7)	14.53 (58.14)
Average rainfall mm (inches)	6 (0.24)	21 (0.83)	36 (1.42)	86 (3.39)	61 (2.4)	32 (1.26)	78 (3.07)	112 (4.41)	86 (3.39)	18 (0.71)	10 (0.39)	2 (0.08)	548 (21.59)
Source: Climate-Data.org, altitude: 1454m

Demographics

As of 2005, Borama had a population of around 215,616 inhabitants. The Awdal region in which the city is situated is primarily inhabited by people from the Somali ethnic group, with the Gadabuursi well-represented.

Education

Currently, there are 52 primary and secondary schools in Borama. These schools can be divided into three main categories: public primary and secondary schools, private primary and secondary schools and Religious schools. Somali is the medium of instruction in public primary schools and Arabic and English as second languages. English is used as medium of instruction both public and private secondary schools. The private schools use different types of curricula in both primary and secondary schools Religious schools; on the other hand, teach recitation of Koran and Arabic.

The establishment of Amoud University in 1998 stimulated expansion of schools and increase of student enrollments in both public and private s primary and secondary schools in the city. Multiplication of primary and secondary schools has increased not only in the city but also in other Somaliland regions as many universities were opened in other regions as well. Before establishment of the university, almost all schools existing in the region were religious schools sponsored by Islamic charity organizations. These schools were owned and run by local religious scholars. Some of these religious schools were teaching exclusively the recitation of the Holy Koran while others were teaching curricula borrowed from Arab countries and used Arabic as medium of instruction. A very few of the most successful students were sent to Arab countries to further their religious studies. The myth that only a government could have the capacity of creating universities had vanished and many other universities and Colleges were established by private individuals. SAW Community College is first college of media were established in borama town. The town counts nine secondary schools, five of them newly made: Aayatiin Secondary School, Waaberi Secondary School, Al Qalam Secondary School, Al Nour Secondary School and Aadam Isaak Secondary School. The other four secondary schools in the town are the famous Sh. Ali Jowhar Secondary School, Hassan Ardale Secondary School, Al-aqsa Secondary School and Ubaya bin ka'ab Secondary School.

Additionally, Borama is home to the first school for deaf children in Somalia. Borama Deaf School trains and provides educational services for hearing impaired children that extends to high school. Using the Somali Sign Language, it has attracted deaf pupils from across the region and beyond.

Despite the increase of schools and total student population in the city, still many school age children are not attending schools at all and render petty services such shoe shining, car cleaning, and dish washing in urban areas so as to contribute to daily subsistence of their families. Most of these children come from impoverished families that could not afford to send their children to school.

Economy

The local economy of Borama is quite active. The existence of competitions in the areas of power supply , telephone and internet services, as well as trading and exchange are all good sings of healthy economic growth.People are engaged in the above mentioned areas together with other commercial activities such as import and export activities. Imports are focused on trade in the following goods: most food stuff, cloth, auto spare parts, building materials, electronics, fuel, tires, and other goods.Import activities strengthens the economy of the district.

Livestock and its products such as animal skin comprise the majority of exports of the district. Livestock are the backbone of Borama economy. Sheep, goats and cows are the most dominant livestock. Livestock are either exported or used as a family property. In recent years, the number of livestock reduced due to water shortage and lack of grazing.

Agriculture is another important aspect of economy for the district and the total farms, whether it is irrigated farms or rain-fed farms are 9550 farms that produce vegetables and fruits including watermelon, guava, tomatoes and limonene, maize, sorghum, beans and other cereals. Remittance is another source of economy for the district. The revenue from remittance is mainly received from North America and Europe among others. The development of communication has positively affected the effectiveness of the money transfer agencies: Radio was used for communications but after 2001, the telephone services replaced the radio communications. Then in 2004, the use of internet and online services started. In 2009, the money transfer system which is using personal mobile phones was introduced. In the near future, remittance companies are planning to use E-cards. There are several different forms of businesses created by local people. These businesses produce good revenues for the people and the government : construction companies, light industry, bakery and small businesses

Transportation

For air transportation, Borama is served by the Borama International Airport. It is the only airport in the Awdal region. The facility was named in honor of Aden Isaaq, Somalia's first Minister of Education. The airport is not in use however, there are plans to rejuvenate it.

Notable residents

• Yussur A.F. Abrar – former Governor of the Central Bank of Somaliarm
• Hassan Sheikh Mumin - Greatest Somali poet, playwright, broadcaster, actor and composer.

Sister cities

Country	City
United Kingdom	Henley-on-Thames

See also

• Amud