They instead rely on local artists to decorate their storefronts.
Low literacy rate requires that these hand painted signs be accompanied with visual depictions of the products they sell.
There are murals of electronic appliances, vehicle spare parts, beauty products, and foreign exchange services.
English tutors advertise their expertise with a muddle of strange quotes full of grammatical and spelling errors.
Artists who couldnt sell their paintings after the breakout of the civil waroffered their talentto local businesses.
Muawiye Hussein Sidow, a muralist in Mogadishu, hasbeen paintingthe citys storefront since 1998.
The money he earns helps him feed his wife and three kids.
He also takes care of his father who was an artist himself.
He is responsible for the artworks on more than 100 shops as well as supermarkets across Mogadishu.
Sidow hopes that someday he will make pictures in the neighboring countries as well.
