Zeila Archipelago & Ruins

About this site

One of the oldest port cities in Africa, Zeila was a thriving hub on ancient trade routes linking the Horn of Africa to Arabia, Persia, and India. Today the town's atmospheric ruins — mosques dating to the 7th century, crumbling stone houses, and a decaying Ottoman fortress — sit beside a chain of offshore islands with crystal-clear waters teeming with marine life. The Zeila archipelago is an emerging snorkelling and diving frontier, with pristine coral reefs and sea-turtle nesting grounds largely untouched by mass tourism.