Old Italian salt production facility

Somalia / Bari / Xafun /
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Soon after the First World War, the Italians realized that the shallow bay of Hafun, which had a long, low beach along the mainland side, was a perfect place for a large salt works. The Società Saline e Industrie della Somalia Settentrionale built on both sides of the peninsula of Ras Hafun ( Hafun and Hurdiyo) what would be the largest salt-works in the world. The firm, constituted in Milan in 1922, built a town for 5,000 inhabitants called Dante. Construction began in 1922 and was completed by 1929. In 1931, production began at the salt factory and soon the enterprise at Ras Hafun was exporting by sea over three hundred thousand tons of salt a year for industrial use. In 1941, during World War II, the British, who had lost British Somaliland to an Italian attack, sent north into Somalia from Kenya an expeditionary force that captured all of Italian East Africa and in the process destroyed the salt works.
Above video has footage of the cableway that spaned across the lagoon to the port facility at Hafun.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hafun
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   10°32'58"N   51°6'10"E

Comments

  • Opone or OLOG as Somalians call it,its the oldest kushitic City.
This article was last modified 4 years ago