Zeila

One of Africa's oldest continuously inhabited towns, Zeila is a coastal settlement in Somaliland with a history stretching back before the rise of Islam — Roman and Greek travellers recorded it as a functioning administrative centre in the 1st century. By the 7th and 8th centuries it had become a hub of Islamic learning, and by the 9th century it served as the founding base of the Adal Sultanate. The town sits close to the Djibouti border, within sight of mountains and walking distance of the sea.

• Population18,600
• Nearest water from center 2.1 km1.3 mi
• Nearest mountain from center 20 km12 mi