Waheen Market is the commercial heart of Hargeisa and one of the largest markets in the Horn of Africa. It extends across a dense grid of covered stalls and open lanes selling cloth, electronics, foodstuffs, household goods, and everything else the city's population needs. The best way to experience it is to enter and walk — the market is large enough that you will get lost, and getting lost is the point.
The gold market section, north of Independence Avenue, is where Hargeisa's goldsmiths work. Women come here to buy and sell jewellery, which serves as both adornment and a form of savings in a society without reliable banking for most people. The craftsmanship is good and the prices are lower than in comparable markets elsewhere in East Africa.