 Somalia, one of the most dangerous places in the world. I just want to ask a question, but reply me in the comment section. Would you ever dare to visit Somalia after hearing this? Based on the news we've been watching and hearing for years about Somalia, the name Somalia is famous for civil war, kidnapping, terrorism, and lastly, pirates. But would you ever believe if I tell you that there is an unrecognized country inside Somalia, which is safer and peaceful than most countries in the world? Welcome to Somalia and one of the safest and most peaceful regions in all of the Horn of Africa. Somalia is so safe. Like this guy, this is the currency exchange. This is his money. He just covered it up. Very famous man. I'm good. Come, let's go and watch your vlog. I'm good. I know you've run. How are you? I'm fine. I know this guy. Very famous. How are you? I'm good, man. Somalia is very peaceful. Thank you. Very peaceful. Somalian is very peaceful. Tell them that it's very peaceful. They don't know. Come to visit Somalia because Somalia is a very peaceful country. You can see money everywhere. This has money, yes? This is our currency exchange. He just went to pray, covered it up, and came back. That's how safe it is here. Imagine. He left the money just to go and pray and come back. And no one touches your money. Are you sure? No one touches your money. You see, one of my favorite things about Somalian is the trust and honesty in our people. These women are sitting on the side of a street on a front facing street with their gold on display in a case and when it comes time for prayer they will just walk away and come back and no one will have taken their gold. It's just the kind of love and trust we have in our people here in Somalian. The safety levels are nothing to be considered when you think about it this way. When you see men and women on the streets with bundles of money and pockets of gold. I've been here for about five months and I'd probably say this is a very very chilled place. It's very safe. One of the safest places in Africa. Like I said to you earlier, I lost my phone about a few times and they brought back the phone to me. They brought me off ahead in a taxi. So, you know, London to Argyza is a nice place to be and hopefully more foreigners come and see the benefits of our country. Taxi summits? Yes. Argyza? Argyza. This place is Argyza. I'm from Nairobi, Kenya and I'm happy to meet Mr. Wodemaya here in Argyza, Somalian. And what are you doing in here? Yeah, I'm working in education sector and I'm happy about Somalian. Is it safe to live in here? Yeah, it's very safe. Contrary to what most people believe that Somalian is unsafe, this place is super safe and we are happy to work here. What are you going to tell people who have never been to this country before? Whatever they say, what are you going to say? They should visit Argyza and have a taste of their loho and mara. Very nice place. Thank you so much for talking to me. I'm really ashamed man. Nice to see you. Like yo, I'm here in Somalian and I'm not really scared of moving around. I'm alone man. How many times have I been telling you that never allow the media to corrupt your eyesight but rather go out there go live your life go learn something new and make sure you explore brothers and sisters. I'm so glad that I came to Somalian. So you know what? I've learnt a new word and all I'm going to tell you is that Koso do wo Somalian! Before we continue I just want to ask you a question. Have you liked the video yet? If not, please like the video and make sure you subscribe to help us reach 900,000 subscribers. But hey, I know and believe that most of you really want to know how this unrecognized country was formed. Good afternoon, my name is Wadamaya I'm from Ghana and it's my first time coming to Somaliland and all I want to know is how Somaliland was formed. Yes. My name is Faisal Hashi. I'm from Somaliland, born and raised here. Somaliland was just like any other African country used to be a British colony. And Somaliland gained independence June 26, 1960. A few days later Somaliland joined the other Somalia which used to be Italian Somalia. So July 1, that's when it was formed Somali Republic. Then after 30 years there was a civil war and Somalilanders couldn't take what was happening at the government side. So there was a civil war and we regained our independence in May of 1991. Then now we are on our own feet now. But it's not a recognized country in the world? It's not recognized but it's an autonomous region. We have nothing to do with the rest of Somalia. We have our own parliament. We have our own government. We have our own ministers. We have our own currency. So it's a government that's functioning regardless of whether it's recognized or not. Okay, well there's no conventional currency exchange shop. You're going to do it right here on the ground. Okay, to change dollars? Dollars into land. One dollar is how much? Eight thousand. Eight thousand? Yeah. Eight thousand three hundred. Eight thousand three hundred. Can he change fifty dollars for me? Yes. How much would that be? Four hundred and seventeen percent. Four hundred thousand? Four hundred thousand. Four hundred thousand for fifty dollars? Would I be able to carry it? Yes, you can. Okay. Bag in a bag. In a bag. Whoa. Four hundred. That's four hundred? That's four hundred. So a lot of money. Look at the difference. Five. Seventeen. Seventeen. Seventeen. Ah. Are you changing all of it? I think there's sixty there. Just fifty. Okay. Fifty or sixty? Do you want all changed? Just kind of. Give me ten dollars. Okay. No. And it'll be fifty dollars. That's a lot of money. Can you imagine walking home with your paycheck? Yeah. Yeah. Wheelbarrow. Wheelbarrow. Do people carry their paychecks in the bar? Yes. Yes. Yes. So if Somaliland is a country that is not recognized in the world, then how did I get here? I mean, if you watch my previous episode, you realize that I was in Jigjiga, which is a Somali state of Etopia, and they share the same border with Somaliland. And I bet to the road from Jigjiga to Somaliland is one of the best roads I've ever used. I think Etopia is really investing more into roads. We finally arrived at the immigration office of Somaliland and we were nearly denied entry because foreigners can't be granted visa in here unless at the embassy in Addis Ababa or at the Harigesia International Airport. But thanks to my YouTube channel who finally issued the visa to the country, which costs sixty dollars each. So if you're coming to the country, make sure you get your visa from the airport. So literally we are the last people to get a visa as soon as we're done. Those are closed man. We've been here for like the past three hours. We are finally on our way to Harigesia. We are finally on our way to Harigesia. Fun facts about the Horn of Africa. We have 7.5 million camels imagine. We make up 35% of the world's camel population all right here in Somaliland. We also have the most potential for renewable solar energy across our entire coastline. And my favorite part of course, we have produced the most super models in all of the African nations. Come on, join us while we explore the beauty of our nation. Since I came to Somaliland, she has been doing all the driving. It's the name of a camel right? They have a river and all the camels come here to drink water. That's how they name it by last year. So this whole cave is called last year. Yeah, I've been here for so long to know that last year means camel. I'm so tired yeah. It took us two hours to get here. It's like two hours away from Harigesia right? Yeah, just two hours outside the city and another half an hour off-roading. But I think coming here is really worth it. But I just want to know what happened in here. So this is one of the oldest findings all across Africa of civilization. Right here in the Horn of Africa. So in these caves, you'll see paintings and marking. And when tests were done, they were dated back at least 6,000 years old. But I want to know who found out that something like this exists in here. Can you tell us? Yes. Who found out that something like this exists in here? Yeah, Helai. French archaeologists, about 10 of them. Everyone knew before the locals who lived here, it was finally made official when the French archaeologists came. It doesn't make sense. So I'm just going to say that the locals that live here found it. And just because they didn't have anything to document stuff, the French came and said, oh, look at that. We found it. It's where the king used to sit. So basically where I'm sitting right now is where the king used to sit. So literally this place used to be the palace for the king. Wow. Sitting on the king's seat. I think I believe that the king used to sit in here because you can see the view in front of me, which means that a king sit here just to monitor his territory. I took it there just to go check out the beautiful coast of Somalilal and that is where the port of Berbera is and Berbera is the city of love. Lived and died here. The legendary story of that famous man who loved Hoddan was from Berbera. It's a very young boy. A legendary story from this man called Elmi Bodiri. Elmi Bodiri lived in where they picked bread. He fell in love with the little. So Hoddan lived nearby and she used to come to the oven for bread. So he fell in love with her. I mean they say he died for her sake, but who knows. But they say he died for her. I mean with the story of Elmi Bodiri and anybody who comes to Berbera, there's a monument in the heart of the city, one of the random parts of the city where they have that oven where Elmi Bodiri used to work. I don't think there's any living Somali who haven't heard about Elmi Bodiri. That story is legendary. It's a famous Somali story. I was so happy to see the diaspora returning to invest in Somaliland. How do you feel coming back in here? I'm so happy. I regret the many years I've been away. I said, why wouldn't I come back earlier? I really can't believe that I'm taking the risk to travel to all the five states of Somalia. You did it before me? Oh, you've never done that before? I've never been. Have you been to Jigjiga? No. I was literally in Jigjiga and I couldn't believe I was there. Did you know it was a Somali territory? I didn't know until I got there. I literally thought I was going to Ethiopia. My father said, this is the Somali region of Ethiopia. Absolutely. And everything that they do there is literally Somalian. Absolutely. And I'm like, if I'm here, then I have to go to Hargesia. How do you feel? Welcome to Hargesia. Thank you so much. How do you feel? I mean, I feel like they like to meet me. They like you? They like to meet me. What did they say? Did you believe the media? You know, like even if you don't believe in the media, you would definitely believe in what your friends say. Yeah. Because everybody was telling me. It's dangerous. They're going to kill you. They're going to kill you. We love you so much. Please come back soon. And I'm like, you know what? I need to go. I have a question for you. What is that question? Did they touch you? No one is touching me. Did they take your money? I saw money on the street. And the guy went to the mosque and he came back and his money was still there. Exactly. You know. That's incredible. You know what? There's something that is mind blowing in here. I want to understand how can a country that is not recognized in the world be able to protect the territory like this? It's a very good question because it's very hard to see a self-declared country having a parliament, functioning city, functioning territory. And look how people, the proud it is. Every time you ask them, how is Harges? They say it's peaceful. It's peaceful. It's peaceful. Welcome to Somalia. I don't know if I should ask you this. Do you know that there are five regional states of Somalia? Yes, I know. And do you ever think that this regional state will one day form together to become one country? God knows. We tried that some 30 years ago. That's when the union came together. Somalia, Northern Somalia, Southern Somalia. Then the idea at the time was to unite the whole. But then that unity couldn't go forward. So it broke down. So currently I don't see that unity coming together. In the future it might, but I don't see it in the near future. Tell us something that you think we need to know about Somalia. Well, it's a safe country. It's a nice place, nice to visit. It's a dry land, as you can see it. I mean, it's a drought season. It's a Ramadan. I see you're wearing your Ramadan outfit. Are you fasting? I'm fasting. Okay, okay. Matter of fact, two days. Good. How do you like it? It's awesome, you know. Being able to connect with your spirit, that's amazing. Yes. Okay. But you're not Muslim? I'm not a Muslim, but I mean, I found myself in here. I feel like I need to respect the culture, respect the people and join them. Definitely. So you can join us for Iftar. After we finish our interview, you're more than glad to join us. So Somaliland, it's a small state. It's about four million population. Like I said, we have our own form of government. The country is safe. If you compare to the region, the region is a very volatile region. And safety and security for Somaliland is number one. Yes, we are trying to work on that recognition issue, but hopefully we'll get there one day. Why should somebody out there visit Somaliland? It's a nice place to visit. It's holiday season. The weather is sunshine. You can see 30, 31, 32 degrees during the daytime. It's a safe place and it's unique to come and see the country. There's a lot of diaspora people moving back. And I urge those who are stranded with the COVID-19 to come back to their country so that they can contribute to the economy and to the well-being of the society. Thank you so much for talking to me. Thank you.