Bosaso (, ), historically known as Bender Cassim is a city in the northeastern Bari province (gobol) of Somalia. It is the seat of the Bosaso District. Located on the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden, the municipality serves as the region's commercial capital and is a major seaport within the autonomous Puntland state. It has an estimated population of around 164,906 residents (2005 est.). The city has a diverse economy centred on education, government, banking, tourism, aviation, food, clothes, logistics, steel, energy, health care, hospitality, retail and technology. The area's many colleges and universities make it a regional hub of higher education, including law, medicine, engineering, business and entrepreneurship. History The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea indicates that Ancient Greek merchants sailed to Bosaso, providing notes about the strategic and geographical location of the current Bosaso area, which was known as Mosylon in ancient times. Previously Bosaso was known as Bandar Qasim, a name derived from an Ahmed Harti first trader of the same name who is said to have settled in the area during the 14th century. The Italian explorer Giulio Baldacci who travelled along Somali coasts in 1906–1909 said: "About hours' walk from Bet Nur, we came to Bander Kasnin (also called by the Arabs: the native name is Bosaso), which was built about sixty years ago, the Kaptallah (a seafaring tribe, now almost extinct) being the first to build few huts there. They were joined by, not long after, by the Deshishe" Historically, Bosaso has been a Dishiishe Darod stronghold. Near Bosaso, at the end of the Baalade valley, lies a earthwork. Local tradition recounts that the massive embankment marks the grave of a community matriarch. It is the largest such structure in the wider Horn region. Since centuries the city was among the areas ruled by the Dishiishe clan. Later forming a part of Italian Somaliland, Bosaso was represented in the parliament of the succeeding Trust Territory of Somalia by the MPs Ugas Yasin Ugas Abdurahman and Haji Bashir Ismail Yusuf. The town would eventually be administered through the official Bari region in the post-independence period. Barkhad Ali Salah served as first mayor of the town. Geography Location and habitat Bosaso is situated in northeastern Somalia, on the Gulf of Aden coast. Nearby settlements include to the east Rehiss (), to the northeast Marero (), to the west Baalade (), to the southwest Laas