This is Somalia.
The original land of frankincense and myrrh.
Located on the northeast coast of Africa with an international airline to serve it, Somalia is now the world's newest and most exciting vacation land.
Mogadishu, the delightful capital, frequently referred to as the white pearl of the Indian Ocean, offers an intriguing combination of old and new, its colorful mosques contrasting eloquently with its ultra -modern hotels.
Mogadishu's merchants are also colorful, its goldsmiths being renowned for their craftsmanship in working the precious metal.
Here are samples of their exquisite wares, jewelry in the grand manner.
Nowhere are there beaches like the gold and white sands of Somalia.
The Indian Ocean, always warm, at the same time provides cooling monsoon breezes.
Each group of the fashionable international set, stemming from the various embassies, has its own beach club in this incomparable setting.
But swimming and sunbathing are not the only activities here.
These beach lovers are searching for the exotic seashells of Somalia.
Specimens found along this coast are exceptionally beautiful.
These shells are kauris and have such names as the tiger kauri, the mole kauri, the humpback kauri, and the gorgeous golden kauri.
Another form of sea life provides a delicate tidbit of food.
An Italian countess relishes fresh oysters seasoned with lemon juice.
This crustacean, also a delicacy, understandably seems in a hurry to get away.
Somalia's prime export is its banana crop, a fruit that must be replanted every year with a replacement stock that was originally brought in from the Ivory Coast.
Cut three days before the arrival of banana boats, the crop is harvested carefully, not only in the handling, but also with an eye to uniform size for the bunches.
Inside the packing plant, the fruit is washed and disinfected in special tanks.
It is then waxed to prevent excessive drying out.
Here, the fruit is loaded onto a barge for transfer to a vessel anchored offshore.
The rate of production is more than 7 ,000 cartons a day.
A giant banana boat from Italy, which imports 60 % of Somalia's crop, waits to take on its valuable cargo.
The camel is a beast of great importance to much of Somalia's population.
This animal, normally docile, provides food in the form of milk for a large group of animals.
The goats are a source of food, a livelihood, and the local medicine.
The animals are a measure of wealth, all at the same time.
Not so fortunate as the camel, they provide meat as well as milk.
Camels are never slaughtered for meat.
The branding of these animals is done painlessly, a harmless aniline dye being used to stamp identifying marks on their hides.
Camels are also branded in the same humane manner.
The big beast doesn't always have it this good.
In the dry seasons, he gets his food by grazing on sparse, arid ground.
The sale or exchange of such animals calls for sharp and wary dealing in the marketplace.
Camels are especially valuable, being known as the gold standard in this part of Somalia.
From scenes such as this came the term ships of the desert to describe the unique nature of the animals.
This one is carrying everything that his nomadic owner possesses.
The hemispheric pieces of wood are the forms for the nomads' tents.
The camels themselves must move from place to place for the sake of finding new grazing areas.
The nomads carry only sticks as weapons or protection.
In a country of four and a half million people, there are more than 20 million camels, and herding them is an occupation that has come down through the ages.
These women, with infants on their backs, often walk more than 20 miles a day as they trudge along with the camels.
Here we see the original mobile home.
These women, of the Hamite race, have long been renowned for their beauty.
Their garments allow the arm and shoulder to be free for carrying water.
Different ways in which the garments are worn also show whether a woman is married, pregnant, or widowed.
This is a brush -crow, always erected at the end of the day around tents and animals as a protection against marauders.
The milk of the camel is a precious commodity in Somalia.
It's used not only for drinking, but also as a staple ingredient in preparing other foods.
Before milk may be taken, a young camel must be allowed to feed in order to start the flow from the mother.
After the milking, the baby is allowed to finish its repast.
This is the basic reason for the nomadic life of camel herders.
On the average, some of the nomads own between two and three hundred of the animals.
To feed them, there must be a constant search for new feeding grounds.
Here, camel's milk is brought in to be sold or traded at a market.
By this means of exchange, the nomad is able to obtain such foods as fruits and vegetables for a change of diet.
This is Talaie, once a fortress, now a mysterious brooding place, where custodians chant melancholy ballads of the enormous deeds of its past.
The nomads are called the nomads.
These are incense trees.
To the ancient Egyptians, this valley was a paradise of perfumes and spices.
The pharaohs sent expeditions here to bring back its much coveted products.
Somalia is undoubtedly one of the world's greatest havens for wild birds.
They exist here in countless numbers, in a fantastic list of species.
The pelican, renowned as the bird whose bill holds more than its bellicum, is said to go back more than 30 million years.
The sacred ibis, another ancient bird, was important in the religion of the early Egyptians.
The glossy ibis is a local resident that doesn't care much for travel.
Preferring to remain close to its home.
The spoonbill, while classified as a waiting bird, is noted for its ability to soar to great heights.
The crane, also of ancient lineage, is noted for its extravagant courtship dance.
The stork is a bird of great size, some of the specimens reaching as much as five feet in stature.
This is the yellowbill variety.
The openbill stork belies its open mouth by rarely uttering a sound, its bill being a jar for the more important task of taking in food.
This is the glossy starling, a bird with exceptionally glossy plumage and great congeniality among its own kind.
These unusual nests are the homes of weaver birds, another gregarious species, said to have the best developed social sense in birddom.
Named for the complex manner in which they construct their nests, they tend to group into large communities.
The reticulated giraffe, so named for the net -like appearance of its markings, is the giant of the species.
A magnificent animal with a sinuous beauty of movement.
As with all animal life in this African nation, its elephant herds roam across plains and through wooded areas in large numbers.
Aggressive and savage, the water buffalo is reputed to be the most dangerous game that a hunter may encounter.
A large form of the oryx is found in Somalia, and nowhere else will you encounter the mile -long herds such as you see here.
To bag one of these alert animals requires great skill and patience.
A truly fine trophy is the reward for a successful kill.
A smaller type of antelope, known as Grants gazelle.
The secretary bird gets its name because its crest feathers are similar in appearance to the quill pens of old -time scribes or clerks.
This is a walking bird, being too lazy to fly, except on rare occasions.
The kori bustard is a bird with dual personality.
Very fearful at times, it runs away at any sign of trouble.
On other occasions, it shows not the slightest sign of anxiety for any reason.
The vulturene guinea fowl moves in great flocks of up to several hundred birds.
The guinea fowl is the town crier of the wild, setting up a frightful clamor at the remotest indication of danger and indirectly warning other wildlife in the process.
Here is the largest of all birds.
The ostrich reaches as much as eight feet in height and can weigh up to 300 pounds.
They associate with zebra and other grazing animals that flush out rodents and small reptiles for the big birds, in return for which the ostrich, with its great height, spots approaching danger.
These magnificent Somalia cattle, the imperial zebu strain, were known to the ancient Egyptians as the oxen of the sun.
With their downward arching horns and humped shoulders, they show the same line and silhouette as that on early Egyptian bas reliefs.
The waterholes of Somalia are vital to the existence of its nomadic portion of the population.
Water from this well is being brought up from a depth of 50 meters, roughly 150 feet, by men well skilled in the task.
As they bring up the water, the men chant an ancient song dedicated to the thirsty cattle that will drink here.
For centuries, these tribesmen have been nurtured by the oxen of the sun, and they hold the cattle in great veneration and affection.
Despite their thirst, the cattle exhibit a regal composure as they approach the water.
Drinking the water or bathing in it, both are done together as a matter of course by these hardy people.
Now that their thirst has been quenched, the cattle show a measure of contentment equal to that of the splashing children.
Cattle are able to go only two days without some water at least.
Camels, on the other hand, can actually survive thirst for as long as a hundred days.
The wooden bell worn by this animal identifies it as a lead camel.
The sound of the bell distinguishes this particular group and is recognizable not only by the other camels in the group, but by other camels and other nomads.
This one appears to be leaving well prepared for future privation, but of course the water it carries is for the use of the herdsman.
These islands lie from two to four kilometers off the coast of Somalia.
Shaped much like sponges, they're composed largely of coral rock.
There is very little water on the islands, yet they have long been the homelands of the Bagini, a race of people numbering in the Bagini.
The Bagini is a group of people who have been touring about 2000 with an unknown origin.
This Bagini is a famous fisherman in these parts.
These water people have their own unique way of taking food from the sea.
They exploit an unusual type of fish, the remora.
One of the world's outstanding parasites, the remora has a powerful sucker as part of its head, and with this it likes to attach itself to predatory larger fish or turtles and thus get free rides and free food.
This remora has been conditioned by feeding to prefer turtles.
Treating it as they are doing here may seem harsh, but no harm comes to the fish.
Actually, the Baginis treat remoras tenderly and are so fond of them that they sing a song of thanks to the sucker fish that is part of a centuries -old mystique.
Keeping the fish wet is essential to its welfare, as drying out would cause its death.
The remora is handled with almost loving care as the line is tied securely.
The fishes again dip in the water, and then the line to which it was attached is taken from its mouth.
The remora is now ready to undertake the task for which the Baginis have trained it.
Out it goes, taking the line with it, and a second fish, trained the same way, is sent out to help.
The search for a turtle now begins below the surface, and this will take time.
The Bagini fisherman, who has been trained to be a fish for a long time, settle themselves to wait patiently, sometimes for hours.
But now they have something more than just the remora at the other end of the line, and it's a fine catch, a massive Indian Ocean turtle.
Now a rope is tied to the catch.
Another man jumps in to help.
The seven -pound remora has done its work well.
The second remora also carried out its assignment.
This fellow will weigh as much as 300 pounds, and the meat of the turtle is a great delicacy.
So here we are, hundreds of pounds of exotic cuisine, complements of the Indian Ocean, and two seven -pound super fish, trained to the needs of these Bagini fishermen.
A carefully handled remora can catch up to 40 of these giant turtles before it tires of being exploited.
So it's no wonder these Bagini fishermen venerate this small fish that is so necessary to their way of life.
