Saylac — known historically as Zeila — is one of the oldest port towns on the Horn of Africa, sitting on a small peninsula on the Gulf of Aden coast in Somaliland's Awdal Region. Surrounded by sea on three sides and by desert inland, it is about 170 miles northwest of Berbera and close to the Djibouti border.
The town has been a trading port for over a thousand years, once serving as the main gateway between the Ethiopian highlands and the Arabian Peninsula. Ibn Battuta visited in 1329 and famously declared it "the dirtiest, most disagreeable, and most stinking town in the world" — he blamed the fish and the camels slaughtered in the streets, and spent the night aboard his ship. The town later served as the capital of the Adal Sultanate and was an important link in the coffee and ivory trade with Harar.
Modern Saylac is a shadow of its historical importance. The civil war left most buildings damaged or destroyed, and many residents fled to Djibouti. The town has been slowly recovering since Somaliland's declaration of independence. What draws the rare visitor today are the offshore islands, coral reefs, and mangrove forests — largely unexplored and among the most pristine marine environments in the region. The ruins of old mosques and Ottoman-era buildings hint at the town's layered past.
Getting here requires determination. The road from Djibouti or from Borama is rough, and facilities in town are minimal. This is a place for travellers comfortable with real remoteness.