Obock
| Obock | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
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 Obock
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| Coordinates: 11°58′N 43°17′E / 11.967°N 43.283°E | |
| Country |
 Djibouti
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| Region | Obock Region |
| Elevation | 13 m (43 ft) |
| Population (2015) | |
| • Total | 21,000 |
| • Density | 1/km2 (3/sq mi) |
Coordinates: 11°58′N 43°17′E / 11.967°N 43.283°E
Obock (also Obok, Ubuk) is a small port town in Djibouti. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Tadjoura, where it opens out into the Gulf of Aden. The town is home to an airstrip and has ferries to Djibouti City, while mangroves lie nearby. The French form Obock derives from Arabic "Oboh", deformation of Oboki, a name given to the Wadi Dar'i in its middle part, upstream of its coastal delta.
Obock is located in east of the northern coast of the Gulf of Tadjoura, the door of the Bab el Mandeb Strait and in the north-east of the Republic of Djibouti, 235 km (by road) of Djibouti City.
During the Middle Ages, Obock was ruled by the Ifat Sultanate and the Adal Sultanate. The Ottoman Empire had control over the area from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century. It later was part of the French Somaliland protectorate in the first half of the 20th century. Obock was originally significant as the site of the first French colony in the region, established by treaty with the local Afar rulers on March 11, 1862. The French were interested in having a coaling station for steamships, which would become especially important upon the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. (Up to that time French ships had to buy coal at the British port of Aden across the gulf, an unwise dependency in case of war.)
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Wikipedia