ABSTRACT
The vast majority of Mogadishu’s Somali residents came to Mogadishu either from the bush or another town, or was born in the capital; virtually all expatriates arrived in Mogadishu relatively effortlessly, by air. Tourist art, despite the lack of tourism or a tourist industry, could be had in Mogadishu though. With money purchased on the black market any item was a good buy in Mogadishu and often expatriates prided themselves on what a deal they were getting compared to what they would have had to pay in Kenya or elsewhere. Mosques were off-limits, both practically and psychologically speaking to non-Muslims. Few expatriates knew more about Islam than that it was an "Arab" religion that caused people to bang their heads on the floor five times a day; that Muslims could have more than one wife; and that women were second-class citizens and often cloistered.
