By: Mo Ali
SANAAG (Medeshi) – I remember the mountains of Erigavo where my parents brought me up as a kid. The recent discovery of the ancient artefacts ring bells in my mind. Starting from Jiidale eastwards, there is one passage way for each valley to access the down side of the mountains called in Somali “Marin”.
Jiidali has Il Grad passage, Dabablehe has Madahyahan passage while Birhamar and Yube valleys have Laag passage and Hubayre road eastwards.
Beyond these passages to the north lies hidden treasure of ancient people that have inhabited in these highlands before us. I cannot describe in words about Raad Shabeel cave and how other beautiful cave shelters have been carved out of huge rock hills by the ancient settlers of Sanaag. Shelters seem to have been replicated in all parts of the mountain areas.
Another amazing structures left by the ancient settlers are the hill tombs that resemble the Nasa hablood hills just east of Hargeisa , the capital of Somaliland. These hills are said to be tombs of important figures of these ancient people and are almost in all parts of Sanaag. People in these areas believe that the tombs are sacred or possessed and are scared climbing it.
Treasures of an ancient Kingdom has been discovered in Medeshi recently which supports the opinion that ancient people have lived in this part of Somaliland.
Medeshi is a small village located North East of Erigavo, the capital of Sanaag, of the republic of Somaliland in the Horn of Africa. It is known for its abundance of water and frankincense as well as fertile land. It is also the first place in the Horn of Africa that the British Empire sent its war planes from a location just north of El Afweyne and Garadag to bombard the army of Sayid Mohamed Abdulla Hassan in the 1920s.
