Bakara market
The Bakara market (Somali: Suuqa Bakaaraha , from baqaar for "(grain) silo") in the Somali capital Mogadishu is the largest market in Somalia. The assortment on the open market ranges from food and everyday goods to weapons and forged documents. The goods traded come from all over Somalia, neighboring countries and the rest of the world.
The market directly provides work and income for an estimated 10,000-15,000 people.
history
The Bakara Market opened under Siad Barre in October 1972 . The aim was to modernize the capital and trade, as Mogadishu had grown significantly and the old main market in the Hamar Weyne district was now overcrowded. Previously, the land on which the market is located was mainly used as pasture. It was largely owned by Hawiye .
While the security situation in Mogadishu deteriorated at the end of the 1980s, the Bakara market remained largely safe, as the corresponding district was avoided by the government and its army as "unfriendly". During this time, a number of traders from the Hamar Weyne and Medina districts relocated their activities here. A committee for security issues was set up and shop surveillance was organized. The Bakara market survived the uncertain period in late 1991 / early 1992 unscathed, which strengthened its reputation as a safe place.
With the arrival of the UNITAF troops in 1993, money came into the city from which many traders wanted to profit. So the Bakara market continued to grow.
In 2007, fighting between troops loyal to the government and their opponents caused a big fire in the market. In November 2007, further heavy fighting led to an extensive standstill of trading activities on the Bakara market.
Areas and assortment
The market is divided into different areas including the drug market, the fuel market, the domestic and imported food market, the palm leaf market, and the arms market.
Most of the drugs traded on the drug market came from India and Pakistan, as well as from Kenya, Egypt, Jordan, Greece and Syria, and rarely from Western Europe. Traditional remedies are sold in their own area.
Among the imported foods, rice (from India, Pakistan and Thailand) and sugar (from Brazil and Thailand) are the most important. They are introduced via El Ma'an Port and Kismaayo . Corn, beans, peanuts, sesame seeds, wheat, and rice are sold in the local agricultural produce market. Wheat and rice - the cultivation of which is not widespread in Somalia - come partly from international aid deliveries. The maize comes from the regions of Lower and Middle Shabeelle and Middle Jubba , Sorghum from Bay , Bakool , Middle Jubba and Gedo (area of Baardheere ). The smaller beans come from areas in Galguduud and the larger ones from the Shabeelle regions. Sesame is imported from these two regions as well as from Central Jubba. Peanuts come mainly from Unter-Shabeelle. The prices for these products vary according to the security situation in the growing regions and the condition of the roads to Mogadishu.
There is a separate market for milk, which is supplied daily with cow and camel milk from villages around Mogadishu. As in the gold and clothing market, it is mainly women who work here.
The gold in the gold market is mainly imported from Saudi Arabia and Dubai, where it is relatively cheap. Before the civil war, this market was controlled by Indians, Pakistanis, Reer Hamar and a few Jarir and Tumaal . Most have left the country or have been killed and their businesses ransacked. Today only Reer Hamar, Jarir and Tumaal are active here. The gold sold is used as jewelry, but above all as an investment that can be sold if necessary.
The arms market - known as cir-toogte for "shot in the sky" because a weapon is usually tried with a shot in the air before buying it - is available in a wide range, although an international arms embargo applies to Somalia.
The range on the Cabdalla Shideeye market, which got its name from a successful used electronics dealer, now consists of computers and other electronic goods on the one hand, and forged documents and drugs on the other.
swell
Coordinates: 2 ° 2 ′ 58 ″ N , 45 ° 19 ′ 13 ″ E