We left the pyramids and the desert to return to the capital of Khartoum in time for some Nuba wrestling. Every Friday at 4pm, there is Nuba wrestling in a kind of a stadium in Bahro. The idea of this age-old tradition from the Nuba Mountains is to wrestle your opponent to the ground in … Continue reading Khartoum Part 2 Mar 2019
Other than the pyramids, two other sites, Naqa and Mussawarat, together make up the UNESCO archaeological sites of the Meroitic Empire. Naqa is one of the largest ruined ancient city centers in Sudan with the remains of two important temples, Temple of Apedemak and Temple of Amun. The Temple of Apedemak was dedicated to the … Continue reading Naqa & Mussawarat Mar 2019
We arrive at our home for the next several days, Meroe Tented Camp, located in the remote desert land in Sudan. Meroe Tented Camp is owned and run by the same people as the Nubian Rest House in Jebal Barkal and is the only decent place to stay in the area. It is a permanent … Continue reading Pyramids of Meroe Mar 2019
We leave the Karima area to head towards Meroe via the Bayuda desert surrounded by sharp cone-shaped black basalt mountains and bounded by the loop formed by the Nile between the 4th and 6th Cataract. We met some Bisharin nomads who live in small huts built with dry wooden branches close to rare water wells … Continue reading Faces of Sudan Mar 2019
Today we wake up and drive to the village of Tombos via the granite boulders of the Third Cataract of the Nile. Cataracts are shallow areas where there are many boulders jutting out of the river bed with white water rapids in areas. They hinder navigation of the Nile for thousands of years and there … Continue reading Tombos & Kerma Mar 2019
Did you know that there are actually more pyramids in Sudan than there are in Egypt? Even though much smaller in size, there are so far over 350 pyramids discovered in Sudan and serve as tombs for the kings and queens of Napata and Meroe. The Nubian pyramids range from 6 to 30 meters high … Continue reading Napatan Pyramids Mar 2019
Bright and early we leave Khartoum to head towards Karima about 6 hours drive north. We journey through the flat Western Desert before reaching Wadi Muqaddam for a pitstop break. A wadi is a valley bounded by relatively steep banks which in the rainy season can become a water course. Wadi Muqaddam is a dry … Continue reading Old Dongola & Jebel Barkal Mar 2019
When I tell my friends I’m traveling to Sudan, the most common response I get is “You are crazy!” or “Why Sudan? What’s there to see?”. Unlike its more famous neighbors, Egypt and Ethiopia, Sudan is off the radar of most people, news agencies included. The general consensus is that it is relatively unsafe and … Continue reading Khartoum Part 1 Mar 2019
