Mogadishu is the capital city of Somalia, and also its largest coastal town.

In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries Islamization influenced the area. Muslim mystics were settled among the nomads, married local women, and brought Islam to temper the random
violence of the inhabitants.
The city was also visited by the Portugese but they never succeeded in taking it. Then the
sultan of Zanzibar occupied it. In the late 19th century Mogadishu was leased to Italy. The Italian name of the city is Mogadiscio, and it became the capital of the Italian Somaliland. Thirty years after the surrounding territory also came under Italian control after heavy resistance. During World War II Mogadishu was captured and occupied by British forces. Italy lost its control under Italian Somaliland. Finally Somalia achieved independence in 1960.

Mogadishu serves as a commercial and financial center. The economy recovered although the Somali Civil War still presents problems. Free trade without taxes makes business relatively inexpensive.
Principal industries are food, beverage processing and textiles, especially cotton ginning.

View of the coast