Inside the Somaliland National Museum: A First Look
Protectorate-era stamps, letters that crossed the empire, and paintings that tell a nation’s story. Hargeisa finally has a home for its history in the Somaliland National Museum, and we went inside.
HISTORY · MUSEUMS
For years, visitors to Hargeisa asked the same question: where is the museum? The city’s first museum, founded in 1977, was destroyed in 1988, and the country’s history lived mainly in people’s memories, private collections and a few small exhibitions. That is now changing. In the centre of Hargeisa, the new Somaliland National Museum has opened its doors, and one of our editors went to take a first look.
Why the Somaliland National Museum is named after a poet
In Somali, the museum is called Madxafka Qaranka Hadrawi, the Hadrawi National Museum. The name honours Mohamed Ibrahim Warsame “Hadrawi” (1943–2022), the poet whose verses were so powerful that he was jailed for five years for criticising the military government. It is a fitting choice in a country where, as we explain in Somali Poetry: When Words Were Mightier Than Weapons, poems have shaped history.
From a historic site to a modern museum
The museum stands on 26 June Street, on the site of the former Khairia building, a place the government links to the struggle against British colonial rule. Construction began in 2019, to a design by the architect Rashid Ali, and the building was inaugurated by President Muse Bihi Abdi in 2024 as a centre for education and cultural exchange.
Filling it took longer. As early as 2020, a national heritage collection centre asked citizens to donate historical and cultural objects for the future museum. In July 2026, the museum began a new partnership with UNESCO and DT Global to strengthen how it operates and develops.
What we saw inside the Somaliland National Museum
The galleries we visited are bright, white and calm, and they tell Somaliland’s story through objects, documents and art.
- Stamps and letters. One of the most charming displays brings together old postage stamps from the British protectorate and early independence period, under the line “History says it all”. Nearby, envelopes and letters posted from Somaliland decades ago show how the territory was connected to the wider world.
- Documents of a nation. Official papers from the early years after independence sit alongside material from the Somali National Movement, the group at the heart of the road to 1991.
- Large paintings. Some of the most striking works are big, colourful canvases: scenes of the 1988 war, pastoral life with camels and goats, the MiG war memorial that stands in the city today, and a raised fist above the green, white and red of the national flag.
Historic stamps and letters on display at the museum. Photos: GO Somaliland.
The tone is proud rather than grim. Even the paintings of war sit next to images of daily life, rebuilding and national celebration.
Planning your visit to the Somaliland National Museum
- Where: 26 June Street, in central Hargeisa. Our Hargeisa travel guide covers the rest of the city.
- Opening times and tickets: the museum has only recently opened to visitors, so hours and fees may change. Ask your hotel to check before you go. The museum also fits neatly into our 48-hour Hargeisa itinerary.
- Photography: ask the staff before taking pictures inside. Our guide to Somaliland etiquette has more tips on photography.
- Combine it with: the Saryan Museum, a smaller private museum that has told the story of the independence struggle since 2017, and a walk to the war memorial.
For the bigger story behind the exhibits, read 18 May: Somaliland’s Independence Day Explained and Somaliland vs Somalia: What’s the Difference?. And for Somaliland’s rock art, see our guide to Visiting Laas Geel.
Sources
- National Museum of Somaliland, Wikipedia (accessed 25 October 2026).
- Inauguration of the Somaliland National Museum, Presidency of the Republic of Somaliland, 29 June 2024.
- President Bihi lays the foundation stone of the National Museum, Presidency of the Republic of Somaliland.
- State heralds National Museum with launch of National Heritage Collection Centre, Somaliland Sun, December 2020.
- Somaliland National Museum forges new partnership with DT Global and UNESCO, Somaliland Current, 21 July 2026.
- Hadrawi, Wikipedia (accessed 25 October 2026).
- Hargeisa Provincial Museum, Wikipedia (accessed 25 October 2026).
- First museum opens in Somaliland to preserve history of its secession, Africanews, September 2017.
Last checked 25 October 2026. Found an error or something out of date? Tell us.
