Tennis court rent (1 hour on weekend) | USD 10.00 |
Local draught beer | USD 3.50 |
Pack of cigarettes | USD 2.10 |
1 Pair of Nike shoes | USD 40.00 |
Apples (1kg) | USD 3.62 |
Potato (1kg) | USD 1.50 |
Oranges (1kg) | USD 2.52 |
Mid-range restaurant | USD 32.50 |
Sometimes, people who risk their lives visiting Somalia can’t be blamed because the country is richly blessed with natural resources and precious minerals. Despite the terrorism, the people in Somalia are naturally cheerful, hospitable and kind-hearted. Its cities though not very progressive are beautiful in their own rights and even small towns like Jowhar are equally astonishing.
Location wise, Jowhar is not a very likely tourist destination today due to war that’s going all over the country. People especially women are advised against taking cheap flights to Jowhar nowadays to avoid being a victim of terrorism. Killing is common, and kidnapping of foreigners is rampant but despite all these there’s no denying that this place has its own unique charm. The air of mystery and danger surrounding the town is sometimes hard to resist and often drive the adventurous ones to take chances and visit this dangerous area.
Like most towns and cities in Somalia, Jowhar is a little bit populated. According to the local history, the town was founded by Duca degli Abruzzi, a member of a royal family in Italy, in 1920. The town was first inhabited by a mix of Italian and Somalian people and originally has only 16 villages. As time flies, it became prominent and got more and more inhabitants. Its population has now reached more than 62,000 and is continuously rising due to migration. There are no hotels in Jowhar yet but with its fast progress it won’t be much of a surprise to find one in the near future.
Travelers to Jowhar are advised to take caution especially when walking at night. It is extremely dangerous to walk alone so make sure to have an armed Somalian bodyguard when exploring the town. Usually it is safer to have a vehicle take you from one place to another than to travel on foot. At night, it is wiser to stay inside your room than to go outside.
Even though traveling today maybe fearsome and cheap flights to Jowhar may not be available people who go to this place do so to sightsee and escape their boring lives for a while.