Somalia is bounded by the Gulf of Aden, Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti. To the east lies the Indian Ocean. Somalia is an arid country and the scenery includes mountains in the north, the flat semi-desert plains in the interior and a subtropical region in the south. The beaches are protected by a coral reef that runs from Mogadishu to the Kenyan border in the south. They are among the longest in the world. There are only two rivers, the Jubba and the Shabeelle, and both rise in the Ogaden region of Ethiopia. A large nomadic population is scattered over the interior.

Kismayu National Park, in the southwest, contains many common and a few rare East African species. Hargeysa in the north contains rarer species. Before the war, Somali restaurants served a wide variety of international cuisine, especially Italian, a reminder of its former colonial status. A traditional Somali meal is roast kid and spiced rice or seafood - lobster, prawn or tuna. There are frequent traditional feasts with ritualistic and recreational dance, music and folk songs.