Gabiley (Gebiley)

Where it is

Gabiley lies 58 km west of Hargeisa in the Qalax valley (Wikipedia: Gabiley), at about 10.18°N, 45.56°E (Wikidata). Gabiley district is bounded by the Gulf of Aden to the north, Awdal to the west, Hargeisa district to the east and the Somali Region of Ethiopia to the south (Wikipedia: Gabiley).

Before 1991 the town was in the Woqooyi Galbeed region. Somaliland later made Gabiley a region of its own, and the Somaliland government lists it among its regions (Wikipedia: Regions of Somaliland; Statoids). For the wider picture see Somaliland, 1991 to 2026.

The name

The name is said to come from the Somali word gebi, a cliff or ridge, after the cliffs and ridges of the area (Wikipedia: Gabiley).

Rock art

Dhagax Gurre, a rock-art site about 45 km north-east of Gabiley, has painted shelters on a rocky hill. The main shelter shows cattle, one giraffe and one human-like figure; a second shows sheep or goats and people holding bows. The paintings are said to be more than 5,000 years old (Wikipedia: Gabiley). See also medieval towns of Gebiley and Kabab.

Farming

Gabiley is described as the most fertile part of Somaliland and its main farmland, producing up to 85% of its food supplies (Wikipedia: Gabiley). Crops named for the area include maize, sorghum, wheat, barley, beans, groundnuts, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, cabbages, watermelon, papaya, oranges and lemons (Wikipedia: Gabiley). The UK government has run a programme in Gabiley on women's work and income (UK Government case study).

Climate

Gabiley has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen BSh), cooled by its height. The average temperature is 21.4°C and average rain is 489 mm a year. June is the hottest month (24.5°C) and January the coolest (17.6°C). August is the wettest month with 91 mm, and December the driest with 2 mm (Climate-Data.org).

People

Most people in Gabiley district are from the Jibril Abokor and Abdalla Abokor branches of the Sa'ad Musa, part of the Habar Awal Isaaq (Wikipedia: Gabiley). Wikipedia gives a town population of about 141,000 (Wikipedia: Gabiley).

People from the Gabiley area include the poet Abdillahi Suldaan Mohammed Timacade, and the family of the British Olympic runner Mo Farah comes from the area (The Guardian, 2012).

Schools, health and services

Timacade University opened in 1999, and the district has secondary schools including Qalax Secondary and Al-Irshaad Secondary (Wikipedia: Gabiley). The Gabiley National Library opened in April 2021 (Wikipedia: Gabiley). Wikipedia lists six general hospitals in Gabiley (Wikipedia: Gabiley).

Sources

• Wikipedia: Gabiley
• Wikidata Q1016892
• Climate-Data.org: Gabiley
• Statoids: regions of Somalia and Somaliland
• UK Government: Gabiley women's economic empowerment