Sitting in the heart of Hargeisa, the Oriental Hotel is the oldest surviving and operating building in the capital of Somaliland.
In the late 1980s, Somaliland began a concerted attempt to break away from Somalia and the brutal dictatorial rule of Somali president Siad Barre. In response, the Somali Air Force began a large-scale aerial bombardment of Hargeisa, which was a stronghold of the rebel Somali National Movement.
The indiscriminate bombardment destroyed at least 70 percent of the city and, combined with summary executions and ground attacks, resulted in the death of around 50,000 people, mostly civilians. Somaliland declared itself an independent state in 1991. This was not internationally recognized, but Somaliland experienced relative stability in the years that followed, especially in comparison to the ongoing civil war in Somalia. Today, many countries at least recognize Somaliland as an autonomous region of Somalia.
Despite the bombardment of years past, the Oriental Hotel still stands. With its golden yellow facade and a transparent roof over the lobby, the hotel still operates at full capacity in the city center. A few minutes walk from the hotel is the War Memorial, where the plane used to bomb the city stands.
The lobby itself stands above the rest of those in hotels around the city, with a glass roof letting sunlight illuminate the center of the hotel for guests and visitors wanting a cup of tea.
