Mogadishu Rising From Its Ashes

[LADEN]

so is the war over or what???

[Xusein]

I have a friend who is there right now, he posted pics of him and his friends on Lido Beach on Facebook. Pics like that make me have a smile on my face to see the people in Muqdisho finally have happiness, they have suffered through so much in the last two decades, they are a resilient people and I greatly respect them from the bottom of my heart. If this is kept, in five years, it will be the new Luanda. Hell...it's already booming now.

[musa90]

My parents own properties near the beach in Mog but it has been occupied by random squatters for almost 20 years. True story, lol.

[mike7743]

Such a beautiful place with an incredible potential. it's unfortunate that it's stuck in it's current state.



Here's to hoping for a better future!

[HMS Swaziland]

Despite 20 years of war and lawlessness, the people of Mogadishu probably have more respect for their city then some parts of London have for theirs. Good luck to the people of Somalia, I personally believe you should consolidate Mogadishu and make it a an example of good governance before you push out into surounding areas. Make the people of Somalia see the benefits of getting rid of Al-Shabaab. Has law broken down like Al-Shabaab said it would without their strict islamic laws? I doubt it.

[Camellete]

Over 20 years of war and it still looks pretty.
I hope it gets back on its feet fully real soon inshallah.

[Constantine MMX]

Not until it looks like this again will I start celebrating!:

Originally Posted by bayviews

These fantastic photos remind us that Mogadushu was once considered the Miami or Havana of East Africa.

Looks like it could be so again!

Indeed, there is a construction boom ongoing, and I think by 2015 you will see a complete different city, Beirut style. I think that will be Mogadishu's sixth historic comeback (13th c./16th c./18th c./20th c./ 1960-80s and now 2010s), it's the oldest capital in Sub-Saharan Africa for a reason!

[DuckSauce]

Originally Posted by Ayatulahi

Woooowww, if there was no war in Somalia it would be a world destination! That beach is sick!

[Constantine MMX]

A safer Mogadishu beckons Somali-Americans

by Laura Yuen

July 31, 2012



MINNEAPOLIS — When Mustafa Mohamed swam in Somalia's legendary Lido Beach for the first time in two decades, he made sure to have someone take his picture. Lots of them.

The photos capture a brawny and shirtless Mohamed in his swim trunks, with a smile on his face the size of Minnesota. In another photo, the 36-year-old bodybuilder is doing push-ups on the sand.

The turquoise waters are straight out of a postcard.

"When people saw some of those pictures, people thought I was in Hawaii or Jamaica, on vacation," he said.

Once regarded as one of the world's most dangerous cities, the Somali capital of Mogadishu is seeing a bit of a revival.

The terror group al-Shabab retreated last year, making the city safer. New hotels and restaurants are springing to life, and people are rebuilding their homes. -- Read more

[T3ST]

Originally Posted by Constantine MMX

Not until it looks like this again will I start celebrating!:

cmon bro, this is so ancient style. Although its nice and was at its peak during that era and concidering Somali's have 1 style of construction (especially outside Xamar), I say its time to have glass buildings and modern buildings... maybe bit of European style to generate bit of foreign tourism

[Xusein]

I don't know how the styles are there but they should at least renovate the old city and waterfront while replacing a lot of the other buildings elsewhere with modern buildings. Maybe even in the future when recovery is in full swing, we could even have a skyline!

[Constantine MMX]

Originally Posted by T3ST

cmon bro, this is so ancient style. We already have Somali's with 1 style of construction.

I say its time to have glass buildings and modern buildings... maybe bit of European style to generate bit of foreign tourism

Mogadishu's historic icons such as the medieval Mogadishan architecture, the whitewashed appartments and houses, the wide boulevards, the Moorish hotels, the beachfront villas, the italianate style houses, the Chinese sports & leisure buildings, the socialist era brutalist architecture, etc, are all actually unique to that city alone, you won't find similarities in Hargeisa or Bosaso. We shouldn't compromise our heritage with conflicting architecture, but make them blend harmoniously. The biggest tourist magnets in Europe are the cities that have managed to do that:

Vienna


Prague


Stockholm


Rome


Paris


I'm all for a seperate CBD with modern and post-modern architecture including glass, chrome and steel, but not at the expense of existing ancient & medieval coral stone, classical concrete & marble or the socialist era icons, be it governmental buildings, the beach villas, the lighthouse area, the waterfront, etc.

There is plenty of space between Jasira beach and the city for that.

[Xusein]

Muqdisho will likely be more like Berlin if anything, a hodge podge of historical and modern styles with no real defining style.

Historical buildings and the core should renovated but at the same time, let's not have the European NIMBY mindset.

[ModernNomad01]

Mogadishu should actually stay old style architecture while cities like hargreisa and bosaso should become modern with skyscrapers

[Xusein]

Why? Mogadishu is where the action is. Eventually rental prices for office space will be very expensive in the future, and it's better to go up than out.

Of course this is a remote idealism. Does Xamar even have an urban planning division to begin with!?

[T3ST]

Originally Posted by Constantine MMX

Mogadishu's historic icons such as the medieval Mogadishan architecture, the whitewashed appartments and houses, the wide boulevards, the Moorish hotels, the beachfront villas, the italianate style houses, the Chinese sports & leisure buildings, the socialist era brutalist architecture, etc, are all actually unique to that city alone, you won't find similarities in Hargeisa or Bosaso. We shouldn't compromise our heritage with conflicting architecture, but make them blend harmoniously. The biggest tourist magnets in Europe are the cities that have managed to do that:

Vienna


Prague


Stockholm


Rome


Paris


I'm all for a seperate CBD with modern and post-modern architecture including glass, chrome and steel, but not at the expense of existing ancient & medieval coral stone, classical concrete & marble or the socialist era icons, be it governmental buildings, the beach villas, the lighthouse area, the waterfront, etc.

There is plenty of space between Jasira beach and the city for that.

Even those areas are so ancient

As cruel as it may sound, not all cities get to construct from the beginning. I bet if those cities had the opertunity, they'd be glass buildings.

Ancient style is good for us but not for the next gen and the gen after that. The modern style we're talking about will become ancient one day too.

[Constantine MMX]

Brothers, skyscrapers in one of the least densily populated countries in the world is kinda pointless, and only a waste of precious energy, maybe a single 'vanity' project towering over everything else might add to the city as a 'new icon', with which locals and tourists can promote and identify the city in postcards and country-branding (see Petronas Towers in KL), but i've seen examples of African skyscrapers where half the buildings ended up empty, and were responsible for power shortages in the surrounding area as a result of their existence.

In the reconstruction period we should stick to what I would call 'fat' architecture, big and wide, while keeping a cap on highrises above 20-flrs that aren't in the tourist zones, unless they're private investments. As I said above, we can tolerate one vanity project, but nothing more from the state, the funds will be better suited for other sectors such as healthcare, education and agri/aquaculture. This is ofcourse assuming not a single drop of oil is found in Somalia (highly unlikely), if the government does have significant funds available then T3EST'S dreams most likely will be a reality.

Regardless of future wealth, however, I still think that Mogadishu should be like 'The Bund' of Shanghai, regenerate the waterfront, repave the Indian Ocean road, and promenades, and have the iconic buildings illuminated prominently, then it would be one of the most romantic looking cities in Africa once again:

Mogadishu Old waterfront


The Bund Old waterfront, Shanghai

[Xusein]

Originally Posted by Constantine MMX

In the reconstruction period we should stick to what I would call 'fat' architecture, big and wide, while keeping a cap on highrises above 20-flrs that aren't in the tourist zones, unless they're private investments. As I said above, we can tolerate one vanity project, but nothing more from the state, the funds will be better suited for other sectors such as healthcare, education and agri/aquaculture. This is ofcourse assuming not a single drop of oil is found in Somalia (highly unlikely), if the government does have significant funds available then T3EST'S dreams most likely will be a reality.

The government should just preserve the historical buildings and make zoning more receptive to build dense development. Only buildings that it should actively build is state buildings, I think there's enough potential for Somalia to rely on private investments for the vast majority of future construction projects. I think eventually the combination of future high office space costs and zoning will make taller buildings more feasible anyway (skyscrapers are a loooooong way off).

Another good example for Muqdisho to emulate is Beirut, another coastal city with a history of war as well as strong historical preservation.

Somali urban designers really need to go there for a trip to take pointers.

[Constantine MMX]

Beirut is a fine example, one of the greatest comebacks in modern history, right up there with post WWII Warsaw and Manila. Your right I completely forgot the Somali financial firms & construction companies active outside the country, their potential HQ's in Somalia alone could result in a nice skyline if their establishments are similar in height to their overseas projects:

[T3ST]

I think Xamar should be something like Dubai without constructional steriods. (not so extreme).

Something like this would be nice:





Kinda emphesize more on tourism while preserving the historical buildings.