Eyl also called Illig, is a historic port town in the northeastern Nugal region of Somalia. It currently serves as the capital of Eyl District. It was also the capital of the Dervish in 1905 until it was superseded by Taleh in 1909.
Aerial view of Eyl town
The Dervish era's historic Daarta Dhowre Sheneeleh Dhulbahante garesa in Eyl.
Dervish movement (Somali)
The Dervish Movement was a popular movement between 1899 and 1920, which was led by the Salihiyya Sufi Muslim poet and militant leader Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, also known as Sayyid Mohamed, who called for independence from the British and Italian colonisers and for the defeat of Ethiopian forces. The Dervish movement aimed to remove the British and Italian influence from the region and restore the "Sufi system of governance with Sufi education as its foundation", according to Mohamed-Rahis Hasan and Salada Robleh.
Taleh fortress, the Dervish capital.
Dervish scout on top of a tree
The historic Daarta Sayyidka Dervish fort in Eyl, Puntland.
The last residents of the Silsilad fort were Haji Yusuf Barre, the singlehanded defender of Taleh, Mohamud Hosh (pictured), the last castellan of Taleh and Jama Biixi Kidin, an abandoned Dervish child prisoner.
