Illustrated Gazetteer of the Maritime Kingdoms, Vol. 18

The tribes of Mogadishu original: 諾沙 (Nosha) trade in Brava original: 鱗萊 (Linlai); a historic port city on the Somali coast, which is also a major market town.

Ajan original: 阿啗 (Adan/Ajan); referring to the coast of the Horn of Africa, historically known as the Azania/Ajan coast reaches the sea to the east and borders Zanguebar original: 山維麻 (Sanweima) to the south. To the northwest, it borders Abyssinia original: 阿邁司尼 (Amaisini), and to the southwest, it reaches the wilderness, which marks the furthest extent of East Africa original: 東阿末里加 (Dong Amolijia); literally "East America," but used here in the 19th-century Chinese geographic context to describe the African continent. The northern coast faces the sea, directly opposite the land of Aden original: 阿丹 (Adan).

The peoples of Ajan are of many mixed varieties. The land consists entirely of sand and stone; the soil is parched and unsuitable for sowing crops. In the north, there are many hills and mounds. Regarding the local products exported from here: aside from spices, it is unknown what other goods are produced.

Berbera original: 麻馬臘 (Mamala); a major port in modern Somaliland is also a small tribal territory. Every year, a great fair is held where local products such as aromatic gums, myrrh, frankincense, red gold, and ivory all arrive in abundance. Merchants gather there like clouds. Most of the aromatic gums and spices traded in Aden are purchased from this location. Furthermore, it is heard that those goods transported from the interior are located about twenty days' journey from Berbera; these are likely produced in the land of the Galla original: 牙爾臘 (Ya'erla); referring to the Oromo or Galla people of the Ethiopian interior.

Adal original: 阿啗爾 (Adan-er); the Sultanate of Adal lies to the northwest of Ajan and is contiguous with the Galla lands. Its capital is called Zeila original: 西臘 (Xila), which was originally an ancient dependency of Ajan.