An ancient Indian Ocean trading city
Mogadishu was a major trading city on the Indian Ocean for centuries, visited by the traveller Ibn Battuta in the 14th century and linked to Arabia, Persia, India and China. Its old quarters of Hamar Weyne and Shingani hold the remains of coral-stone buildings and old mosques, including the Fakr ad-Din Mosque, dating back to the 13th century. Lido Beach is the city's seafront. Somali food, with spiced rice, goat meat, bananas and sweet tea, reflects these long trading links.