THE SQUARE MOGADISHU PEG, THE ROUND SOMALIA HOLE
Mogadishu, Somalia. Who would ever guess that you can have a fantastic lobster dinner here, in what is billed as "the most dangerous city in the world"? And that there's a first-class restaurant that serves it?
Ahmed Jama managed to escape the bloody horror of warlord anarchy that enveloped Mogadishu in the early 90s. As a refugee in London, he borrowed money from relatives and opened a restaurant that did well - but he always dreamed of returning to his country when the time was right.
His friends though he was crazy when he said the time was 2008. The hyper-terrorist lunatics of Al-Shabaab still controlled most of the city. Ahmed went back anyway - and his restaurants promptly became a terrorist target. The latest attack was last September, when two Al-Shabaab suicide bombers killed 18 people at his The Village restaurant.
Ahmed rebuilt and reopened it in less than a month. Here is Ahmed in front of it today:
