Hafun

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Hafun (Xaafuun) is a small low-lying peninsula in the Bari region of northern Somalia. It is sometimes known as Ras Hafun or Raas Xaafuun, and "Hafun" also refers to the small community on the peninsula. The promontory juts out into the Indian Ocean, where it is known as Cape Hafun and is the easternmost point on the African continent. Its coordinates are [10°25′0″N, 51°16′0″E].

Hafun in the Ancient World (Opone)

Ras Hafun is believed to be the location of the ancient trade center of "Opone". Opone was mentioned by an anonymous merchant in the 1st century CE in his Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. Ancient Egyptian, Roman and Persian Gulf pottery has been recovered from the site by an archaeological team from the University of Michigan. Opone is in the thirteenth entry of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, which in part states:

And then, after sailing four hundred stadia along a promontory, toward which place the current also draws you, there is another market-town called Opone, into which the same things are imported as those already mentioned, and in it the greatest quantity of cinnamon is produced, (the arebo and moto), and slaves of the better sort, which are brought to Egypt in increasing numbers; and a great quantity of tortoiseshell, better than that found elsewhere.

In ancient times, Opone operated as a port of call for merchants from Phoenicia, Egypt, Greece, Persia, Yemen, Nabataea, Azania, the Roman Empire and elsewhere, as it possessed a strategic location along the coastal route from Azania to the Red Sea. Merchants from as far afield as Indonesia and Malaysia passed through Opone, trading spices, silks and other goods, before departing south for Azania or north to Yemen or Egypt on the trade routes that spanned the length of the Indian Ocean's rim. As early as 50 AD it was well known as a center for the cinnamon trade, along with the trading of cloves and other spices, ivory, exotic animal skins and incense.

Modern Hafun

Hafun today has a population of about 2,500 fisherfolk. On 26 December 2004, Hafun was struck by a tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. It was the worst affected area of Africa. Most of the housing was destroyed. Over one hundred people were killed and 85% of the infrastructure was reported damaged. The sand bridge connecting Hafun to the Somali mainland was washed away.

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