What purpose did it serve? I’m guessing military lookout/fortification? It looks like a lighthouse, but the top is wrong, even for the ancient kind that predates glass.
this post was submitted on 26 Feb 2025
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Otherwise known as "The Light Tower," it stands in Mogadishu near the shore. Wikipedia says it was built for defense, so one could surmise that it was probably a bit of both, defensive lookout and lighthouse.
This is just supposition, but my guess is primarily administrative.
To be military it would need an enclosed fort to overlook, which may have existed I guess.
A busy port would need a vantage point from whence to see boats and caravans arriving and departing, a place to store duties collected, barracks for your ~~thugs~~ tax collectors.
A lighthouse just might not have been necessary depending on the style of shipping that was taking place.
What I've seen around is that it is a lighthouse, but I don't know how reliable that claim is or the details of it. Sadly, African history is understudied in general, and difficult to find even online. Especially with the enshittification of search engines.
minaret?