Merca

Merca, or Marka, sits on the coast south of Mogadishu and was one of the Benadir trading towns that worked the Indian Ocean routes for centuries, with coral-stone houses, carved doors, mosques and the remains of a wall standing above the beach. The town is old: a mosque here carries a date from the thirteenth century. Fishing boats work off the shore and the fabric is weathering.

What you actually see

• The coral-stone houses - the Benadir building tradition along the streets.
• The carved doors - the worked wooden doorways of the old town.
• The old mosques - buildings with dates running back to the thirteenth century.
• The beach - the shore the fishing boats work from.

When to go

December to March is the cooler dry season. The rains fall around April to June and October to November. Heat and humidity outside the cool months are heavy.

Honest expectations

Much of the historic fabric is in poor repair or ruined. There is no tourist infrastructure of any kind. Travel here requires arrangements made well in advance through local contacts.

Nearby

Mogadishu is north, and Barawa is south.