Vintage Somalia

Mogadishu, Somalia 1984 at a photography studio. Some of the...

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 10:00:51 -0500

Mogadishu, Somalia 1984 at a photography studio. Some of the photos on the wall are of Somali celebrities of that era. Getting your picture taken by one of Mogadishu’s local photographers was pretty popular back in the days when Mogadishu was peaceful.

#vintagesomalia

Muqdisho #vintagesomalia

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 10:00:00 -0500

Muqdisho #vintagesomalia

A young Somali Women at a Trade Fair in Milan, Italy in 1964...

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 10:24:26 -0500

A young Somali Women at a Trade Fair in Milan, Italy in 1964 showcasing a Somali made product.

#vintagesomalia

Somali Airlines Post Card Somali Airlines was founded in 1964....

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 16:38:44 -0500

Somali Airlines Post Card

Somali Airlines was founded in 1964. In 1974 it started it’s international routes (London via Cairo, Frankfurt, Johannesburg, Dubai, Riyadh, and many more). Somali Airlines stopped running when civil war broke out in 1991 in Somalia. There are preparations for its relaunch currently in progress by Somalia’s new government.

#vintagesomalia

“I was born in war, I work in war and I live in war. I...

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 16:37:37 -0500

“I was born in war, I work in war and I live in war. I have never known peace”

Ayan Muhyadin, 19. Mogadishu, Somalia.

via SomaliReport ph: Jason Florio

Hello, what are your contact details???

Sat, 08 Dec 2012 20:21:13 -0500

vintagesomalia @ gmail (dot) com

Instagram

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 19:25:00 -0500

Instagram/vintagesomalia

Just started an Instagram for the blog, please follow me here too for content on your mobiles.

QORI DHIG QALIN QAADO (Put Down the Gun, Pick Up the Pen) Elman...

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 16:01:21 -0500

QORI DHIG QALIN QAADO (Put Down the Gun, Pick Up the Pen)

Elman Ali Ahmed was well known in Somalia for his peace activism and business accomplishments. He was murdered in 1996 in Mogadishu because he refused to stop working doing what he believed in. Ahmed’s motto “Put Down the Gun, Pick Up the Pen” can be found on walls all around Mogadishu’s streets today.

Amnesty International’s statement on his death is available here from 1996.

The Elman Peace and Human Rights Centre in Mogadishu, currently run by his daughter and widow Fartun Ahmed, which he founded in 1991 continues his work on peace building, poverty alleviation and rehabilitation. One of Ahmed daughters Ilwad Elman recently discussed his life and legacy at TEDxMogadishu (link via YouTube).

We should never forget Ahmed’s message.

May God bless his soul, and may Somalia one day reflect his belief and conviction for education over violence.

#remember, vintagesomalia

Mitchell Sipus Back from Mogadishu: The Fastest Changing City in...

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 18:32:27 -0500

Mitchell Sipus

Back from Mogadishu: The Fastest Changing City in The World

I always intend to write at least twice a week, but lately there has been a delay as I’ve been on the road. I recently returned from Mogadishu and am amazed by how quickly the city is changing. Although journalists continue to tout it as the worlds most dangerous city, I believe it is time to shift the title into something about how the city of Mogadishu has undergone the most radical transformation in the world. It hasn’t even been one year since my first visit, and yet many parts of the city are unrecognizable today. And new construction is everywhere! Hotels, travel agents, import/export businesses and even a new petrol station are up and operating.

In the past, the only way to secure fuel for automobiles was through sharing containers of poor quality fuel, now today a modern petrol station is under construction with modern functioning pumps. A mall constructed in the 1970s was recently renovated, and the Somali National Theatre, the site of a violent suicide bombing last spring has been restored again into a magnificent state. Certainly problems within the city remain however if the pace continues and can expand throughout the region, the problems have a limited future of influence.

via Humanitarian Space

1st Pic: Somali National Theater November 2012

2nd Pic: Somali National Theatre March 2012

‘We Can’t Forget This Machine’: The Letter...

Sun, 25 Nov 2012 23:03:05 -0500

‘We Can’t Forget This Machine’: The Letter press of Mogadishu

From governments to warlords, international organizations, dictators, and militia men, it seem at one time or another everyone needed the services of Daha Printing Press. Read The Atlantic’s story on a print shop in Mogadishu that has remained with its original owners, and printers, for over three generations since 1967.

“I remember” Dancers Mogadishu, #vintagesomalia

Sun, 25 Nov 2012 23:02:48 -0500

“I remember”

Dancers

Mogadishu, #vintagesomalia

God bless you for this blog! Im super nostalgic now but I love it. You showed me the Somalia I have been looking for and I want to thank you for that, truly.

Sun, 25 Nov 2012 22:48:36 -0500

Thank you. God bless you as well for your kind words. It’s easy to forget our history, identity, culture, progress, and what came before war. War not only destroys lives and countries, but it also erases people’s history and memories. I am surprised that people are surprised to see the Somalia I have shown here. Somalia’s civil war is testament to how destructive war is and how it can turn a countries recent past into vintage and antiquity. It’s remarkable how in just two decades Somalia has become truly unrecognisable for all those who lived there during it’s more prosperous and peaceful era. As countries in the rising East have themselves become unrecognisable through progress in the last 20 years, Somalia has become unrecognisable through war. It is truly sad. So much potential lost. War cannot be our only path. I pray for a better Somalia. I am glad VintageSomalia has become a place where people can remember and see things they haven’t seen before and have forgotten.

roadside #vintagesomalia

Mon, 22 Oct 2012 09:39:44 -0400

roadside #vintagesomalia

Jannaale Palms Shabeellaha Hoose, Somalia November 1986 Ph:...

Sun, 07 Oct 2012 05:56:57 -0400

Jannaale Palms

Shabeellaha Hoose, Somalia

November 1986

Ph: Nicola Prisco

Copyrighted

Muqdisho, Banaadir, SO November 1986 Ph: Nicola...

Sun, 07 Oct 2012 05:56:51 -0400

Muqdisho, Banaadir, SO

November 1986

Ph: Nicola Prisco

Copyrighted

Old Portuguese Lighthouse November 1986 Baraawe, Shabeelaha...

Sun, 07 Oct 2012 05:56:46 -0400

Old Portuguese Lighthouse

November 1986

Baraawe, Shabeelaha Hoose, SO

Ph: Nicola Prisco

Copyrighted

Mogadishu - La Guereza November 1986 Ph: Nicola...

Sun, 07 Oct 2012 05:56:29 -0400

Mogadishu - La Guereza

November 1986

Ph: Nicola Prisco

copyrighted.

Buurhakaba, Bay, SO. November 1986. Ph: Nicola...

Sun, 07 Oct 2012 05:56:21 -0400

Buurhakaba, Bay, SO.

November 1986.

Ph: Nicola Prisco

copyrighted.

Photographer Nicola Prisco who was kind enough to provide me...

Sun, 07 Oct 2012 05:56:11 -0400

Photographer Nicola Prisco who was kind enough to provide me these photo’s I will share with you guys has strong ties to Somalia. Nicola’s father (Carlo Prisco), seen in the second photo (photo taken in November 1986) beside the Somalia flag was the Attorney General of the Italian Trust Company Administration (Amministrazione Fiduciaria Italiana) from 1957 until 1960 (when he was confirmed to fill this important office by the President of the new born Somali Democratic Republic, Aden Abdullah Osman Daar). Nicola’s father left Somalia in 1966. Nicola returned with his father in 1986. They travelled throughout Somalia and took these photos and the ones I will post.

Please respect the copyright of these photo, every use and/or diffusion of the images or part of those here portraited is subjected to his explicit authorization.

Kismayo, Somalia #presentday via AU and AU&UN Somalia is a...

Fri, 05 Oct 2012 12:14:16 -0400

Kismayo, Somalia #presentday via AU and AU&UN

Somalia is a beautiful country with the longest coastline in the continent of Africa. The photos above are from present day Somalia except the map of course. I included the map to highlight the vast coastline. It’s shame really that for the past two decades Somalia has been hostage to conflict. So much potential and time wasted on war.

#vintagesomalia