Djibouti, Traveling through Puntland!

My genetics is not landlocked: Horn of Africa, Djibouti & Red Sea!

Having crossed the Red Sea through the suez canal, while Walking the bible from Egypt Mt.Sanai, Israel, Palestine, and Jordan (An MBA graduation gift for myself). I had been taken back by the mysteries that the Red Sea holds, not just to the global world but my Abyssinian ancestors, that were birthed near the Red Sea, and were the cradle of mankind. I have always known my soul was nomadic. My social, emotional and intellectual intelligence was from my highland ancestors, but the seat of my soul, my heart, was at peace when exploring the world freely, especially breaking bread with the nomads of the Sahara desert (The Afar, Bedouin, Tuareg, and Berber). 

On my trip to Egypt, exploring the land of the pharaoh from Alexandria to Abu Simba, spending time sailing with Nubians on the Nile, and hiking Mt.Sinai with Bedouins, gave me a inner glimpse into unconditional Joy, and an insight into the history, civilization and interconnection of my ancestors, and an immense gratitude to be chosen to discover my ancestors journey that I was not taught in school. I am in gratitude and have a profound humility when I sit with myself and choose to seek living, wisdom and truth. 

Fortunate to be born in a family of uncles and aunts that told me stories of my ancestors, as well as surrounded by faith and love that grounds who I am, allowing me an inner freedom and confidence to explore internally and externally. Its in Egypt I saw thousands of years of statues that looked like me, and discovered that my country was part of what the pharaoh called 'Gods Land'. The Red Sea coast of now Sudan, Eriteria, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Northern Somali are considered the most likely location of the territory known to the ancient Egyptians as the Land of Punt. The first mention of the Land of Punt dates to the 25th century BC.

I always go within to choose my next destination to explore, not just for site seeing but a combination of adventure, history, relaxation, social awareness and strategic business opportunity for myself and the community I serve. Djibouti has been on my mind for a few years, it was so close yet so expensive, but I knew the lure was Whale Shark diving on the Red Sea, and the Afar inhabitants of the Red Sea coast, that were the ancient people of Horn of Africa. Having visited the Sahara Desert Berbers in Morocco last year, they claim their ancestors came from the East, thus my curiousty triggered, since the relationship of the Horn and Northern Africa can be traced back to not just the Axumite Empire, the Nile river, but also through traders and travelers crossing from Eastern Africa to Western Africa via the Sahara desert.

The Kingdom of Axum

The historical ties between Ethiopia, the Middle East, and India have been strong in terms of trade, spirituality, culture, and religious books dating back to before the advent of Christianity. Christianity has been the dominant religion in Abyssinia (now Ethiopia), including Djibouti, Eritrea, and parts of Somalia since the reign of Emperor Ezana in the early 4th century, making Ethiopia the first country to adopt Christianity in the world.

Djibouti is mainly inhabited by Ethiopians, Somalis, and Afar people. The Tigrayan and nomadic Afar people (where Prophet Muhammad's family were protected as refugees) are the first people in Africa to embrace Islam. The Afar are also associated with the Adal Sultanate, which once controlled large parts of the northern Horn of Africa. During its existence, Adal had trade relations with other polities in Northeast Africa, the Near East, Europe, and South Asia.

When I travelled to Spain and Portugal last year, I had an eye-opening experience, especially in Al-Andalusia and Portugal. I witnessed the tremendous influence of art, architecture, science, food, culture, and music of the Muslim Berbers (Imazighen) who invaded most of the Iberian Peninsula from the 8th to the 15th century (over 700 years) and were constantly in conflict with the Europeans.

Djibouti is a small country with various foreign military camps that inject a lot of foreign currency into the country, making it expensive for locals and travellers to live. However, since it has an international port, the grocery and shopping selections are filled with great items catering to its foreign residents. There are three main things one can do on a trip to Djibouti: tour Djibouti city itself, visit Lac Assal and Lac Abbé, as well as enjoy whale shark diving or travel around the Red Sea in a yacht, tour boats, or with local fishermen. The architecture is both African and Middle Eastern, and so is the cuisine. The tiny city of Djibouti is a great place to walk around or hire a car for the day to enjoy its coast, shopping, and eating.

Traveling and vlogging about Djibouti and the Horn of Africa, I am fascinated by the history, society, economy, spirituality, and trade of the Horn of Africa, as it was not the focus of my Western academic curriculum. In choosing to serve in East Africa, it became an inner passion of mine to travel, research, deprogram, decolonize, rewrite my truth, and narrate my inner journey to claim my feminine divinity, history, humanity without borders, and our geopolitical connections today, to fully evolve into our highest potential as humans.

You can't envision an evolved society creating a New Earth. without the truth of the past, and the realities of the present.

 

Melkam Guzo (Happy travels)

“Take only pictures, leave only footprints, kill nothing but time”

☆Conscious Travel

By Dutchess@deldeyoch