Things to Do in Somalia in November

November's morning temperatures - 24°C (75°F) at 7 AM - make 3-hour walks through the Ottoman-era alleyways behind the port pleasant. The coral-stone buildings absorb less heat now than in summer, and the spice warehouses near Bakara Market fill the air with cardamom and frankincense that hasn't yet been overwhelmed by diesel fumes. You'll pass the 13th-century Arba-Rucun mosque where the call to prayer echoes differently in the cooler air.

The beach that put Somalia on the pre-war tourist map is having a quiet renaissance in November. Local families arrive after Friday prayers with entire kitchens in the back of pickup trucks - you'll smell grilled lobster and tuna steaks before you see the water. The sand stays comfortable to walk on even at midday, and the undertow that makes summer swimming dangerous has calmed considerably.

November is when the second maize harvest comes in, and the irrigation channels built by Italian colonists still flow full past banana plantations that supply most of East Africa. The morning mist lifts by 8 AM to reveal women in technicolor diracs cutting sorghum with curved knives, while the smell of fresh sesame drifts from threshing floors. It's the only time of year you'll see both ripe mangoes and new maize in the same market.

Traditional lateen-rigged dhows make the 15 km (9.3 mile) crossing to the Bajuni archipelago when November's variable winds cooperate. The coral atolls are surrounded by water so clear you can spot parrotfish at 20 meters (65 feet), and the beaches are blanketed with cowrie shells that Somali women string into wedding jewelry. November's lower humidity means the 6-hour round trip won't leave you completely drained.

The largest camel market in the Horn of Africa happens every Saturday. But November brings traders from as far as Djibouti for the pre-winter stock-up. Between 6-8 AM, you'll see 3,000-plus camels changing hands while the air fills with the deep-throated bellowing that sounds nothing like the cartoons suggested. The early light is good for photography, and the dust kicked up by thousands of hooves creates dramatic backdrops against the Golis Mountains.

November's cooler evenings make standing over a charcoal brazier while learning to make canjeero (sourdough pancakes) enjoyable. You'll grind your own xawaash spice blend - cardamom, cumin, turmeric - that gives Somali rice its distinctive golden color, and learn why camel meat is always served with banana (the enzymes aid digestion). Classes typically end with shaah cadde, the sweet spiced tea that Somalis drink at every social occasion.