Las Khorey
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Las Khorey Laasqoray لاس قُرَي |
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| Town | |
View of a residential area in old Las Khorey.
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 Las Khorey
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| Coordinates: 11°11′N 48°13′E / 11.183°N 48.217°ECoordinates: 11°11′N 48°13′E / 11.183°N 48.217°E | |
| Country |
 Somalia
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| Region | Sanaag |
| District | Las Khorey |
| Population | |
| • Total | 53,000 |
| Time zone | EAT (UTC+3) |
Las Khorey (Somali: Laasqoray, Arabic: لاسقُرَى Lāsqoray) is an ancient coastal city in the northern Sanaag region of Somalia. Situated in the Las Khorey District, it is notable as the historic capital of the Warsangali Sultanate.
The Las Khorey settlement is several centuries old. Between the town and El Ayo lies Karinhegane, the site of numerous cave paintings of real and mythical animals. Each painting has an inscription below it, which collectively have been estimated to be around 2,500 years old. Around 25 miles from Las Khorey is found Gelweita, another key rock art site. Karinhegane's rock art is in the same distinctive Ethiopian-Arabian style as the Laas Gaal cave paintings.
Beginning in the early Middle Ages, Las Khorey served as the capital of the Warsangali Sultanate (Maakhir Coast Sultanate)'s ruling dynasty, including the influential Sultan Mohamoud Ali Shire. Sultan Shire administered his Sultanate from a large two-storey palace (Sha’a) in the city. He also maintained a fortress, which, though now mostly in ruins, still remains an important historical structure.
Northern Somalia in general is home to numerous such archaeological sites, with similar edifices found at Haylan, Qa’ableh, Qombo'ul and El Ayo. However, many of these old structures have yet to be properly explored, a process which would help shed further light on local history and facilitate their preservation for posterity.
In July 2007, Las Khorey became part of the briefly-extant Maakhir autonomous region of Somalia. The polity was later officially incorporated into Puntland state in January 2009.
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Wikipedia