Country Somalia Local time Wednesday 1:08 AM | Time zone EAT (UTC+3) | |
 | ||
Weather 26°C, Wind E at 5 km/h, 75% Humidity | ||
El Ayo (Somali: Ceelaayo, Arabic: عيلايو), also known as El Ayum, is a coastal town in the northern Sanaag region of Somalia.
Contents
Map of Ceelaayo, Somalia
History
El Ayo is one of a series of ancient settlements in northern Somalia. About one mile from the town are the ruins of an old city, which are held to have belonged to an earlier civilization. Between El Ayo and Las Khorey lies Karinhegane, the site of numerous cave paintings of real and mythical animals. Each painting has an inscription below it, which collectively have been estimated to be around 2,500 years old. Karinhegane's rock art is in the same distinctive Ethiopian-Arabian style as the Laas Geel cave paintings.
Additionally, a number of small- to medium-sized cairns are especially concentrated on the plain that lies between the coast adjacent to El Ayo and an inland ridge around 2 km in length. Northern Somalia in general is home to numerous such archaeological sites, with similar edifices found at Haylan, Qa’ableh, Qombo'ul and Maydh. However, many of these old structures have yet to be properly explored, a process which would help shed further light on local history and facilitate their preservation for posterity.
El Ayo was also an early local hub of Islam, with the religion spreading through maritime enterprise with and immigration from the Middle East.