Sudan has so much to offer a visitor including people who are the friendliest in the world in my estimation. It has numerous archaeological sites rivaling Egypt and is where the White and Blue Nile Rivers meet to make the Nile, the longest river in the world. There are layers and layers of history, including prehistoric settlements, the Kingdom of Kush, early Christian era, Ottoman occupation and British colonialism. There’s a devout Islamic character in the culture but shaped by the tolerance of Sufi teachings. The country has many ethnic groups and the landscape ranges from arid deserts to Red Sea ports.
A conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, began on April 15, 2023, six weeks after we left. It has resulted in widespread displacement and a major humanitarian crisis with over fourteen million people forced from their homes and tens of thousands killed. Tourism has halted but one day will return, hopefully soon.
Where is Sudan?
Sudan, in northeast Africa, has a border with seven countries, Egypt, Libya, Chad, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea. It also has coastal land on the Red Sea, west of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
Sudan was the biggest country in Africa, but this changed on July 9, 2011, when South Sudan gained independence after decades of armed conflict. Sudan (711,000 mi² / 1,841,000 km²) is now the third biggest after Algeria (920,000 mi² / 2,382,000 km²) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (905,000 mi² / 2,345,000 km²). It’s the 15th largest country in the world, below Mexico and above Iran.
Who are the Sudanese?
The name derives from the Arabic bilād as-sūdān (بلاد السودان), or “The Land of the Blacks”. This isn’t entirely accurate, as every skin tone is present, as you will see in the pictures across this post. The predominantly Arabic-speaking Sudanese are estimated to be 70% of the 30 million population. Almost all of the “Arabs” are Muslims. We often saw the faith practiced, including these men praying in the streets of Khartoum.
There are over 500 ethnic groups in Sudan with the second biggest being Beja (over two million) in eastern Sudan. About 97% of the population identifies as Muslims, primarily Sunni with many orders of Sufi brotherhoods. Christianity accounts for about 3% of the population, and a small percentage adhere to indigenous religions or other faiths. Islam is the predominant religion everywhere except in the Nuba Mountains region where almost half are Christians and 10% subscribe to local religions.
Why We Went to Sudan?
In the 1990s, I went to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and was fascinated by discovering there were “black pharaohs”. I knew then I needed to visit someday.
While traveling in Armenia (see post here), my wife Khadija and I attended the Extraordinary Travel Festival (EFT) in October 2022. We met Carla of I.T.C Sudan which had over 20 years of experience providing tours in the country. With a 10% discount for attending the festival, we signed up with her in January 2023. We were excited when we learned that Ric Gazarian, the host of the podcast Counting Countries and founder of the ETF, was also on the same tour, which turned out to be just the three of us. Before then, we visited Djibouti (see post here).
Timetable of Sudan with a Focus on the Nile River
Because there are so many archaeological sites in the country, mostly along the Nile River (which has more pyramids than Egypt) and thousands of years of history, I often didn’t understand the context of many things when we first saw them. In fact, afterwards it took many hours researching online to figure out the broad outline of civilizations.
This following timetable was essential for me to understand all of the fascinating places we visited.
300,000 to 2,500 BC – Stone Age Settlements: For thousands of years, the region was occupied by hunters and gathers, then around 5,000 BC there was a transition to farming and animal husbandry.
2500 to 1500 BC – Kerma Culture: An indigenous Bronze Age culture emerged and arguably became the first major African civilization south of North Africa. This first kingdom of Kush, a name used by ancient Egyptians, had Kerma as a capital. The flourishing city had a protective wall and a variety of public and residential structures.
1500 to 1070 BC – Egyptian Domination: Over centuries, Egypt gradually conquered Kush. They destroyed Kerma and increased their settlements to the Fourth Cataract. Eventually Egyptian rule ended when it had insufficient resources to subdue and govern the region.
900 to 270 BC – Napatan Rule: An indigenous power emerged around Jebel Barkal, and incorporated Egyptian royal practices, religion and hieroglyphs. This is the first incarnation of the second kingdom of Kush which controlled the Middle Nile valley for more than a thousand years. Around 750 BC, they conquered Egypt and ruled as the 25th dynasty. In 664 BC, they were expelled from Egypt by the Assyrians but remained in control of their own land.
270 BC to 350 AD – Meroitic Rule: The Kushite rulers moved from Napata to Meroë which is the next embodiment of the second kingdom of Kush. The culture shifted away from Egypt and developed more independently. For example, they stopped using Egyptian hieroglyphics for royal inscriptions and employed script representing their indigenous language. After clashes with the Roman Empire (which had conquered Egypt), a border was established south of Aswan. For a variety of reasons, around 350 AD, the last royal tombs were constructed at the cemetery in Meroë, indicating the end of the kingdom.
350 to 600 AD – Dissolution of Central Power: As the second kingdom of Kush disintegrated, political power was split among many smaller entities. They stopped building pyramidal tombs, instead constructing mound-shaped structures.
600 to 1500 AD – Christian Period: Byzantine missionaries travelled the Nile and three Christian kingdoms emerged: Nobadia in Lower Nubia, Makuria with the capital Old Dongola, and Alodia on the Blue Nile. Together with Axum in Ethiopia they formed a solid band of Christian states south of Islamic territories.
1500 to 1880 AD – Islamic Entrenchment: Local tribes, Egyptians and the Ottoman Empire spread Islam and decimated Christian communities. In the early 1800s, Sudan became an Egyptian province of the Ottoman empire and had a huge business selling slaves. A newly established route on the White Nile provided more victims to supply the insatiable demand.
1881 to 1898 AD – Mahdiya Revolt: After decades of ruthless exploitation of Sudan by the Egyptians / Ottomans, the Mahdiya revolt was a serious challenge to their rule. Eventually the revolutionaries succeeded and established a government with the capital in Omdurman. This was the first successful uprising of an African country against colonial occupiers. Through internal conflicts, it was severely weakened and was taken over by Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1898.
1898 to 1956 AD – Anglo-Egyptian Rule: Sudan was subjugated under the joint sovereignty of the United Kingdom and Egypt,
1956 AD to the Present – Republic of the Sudan: Sudan became an independent state in 1956. In 2011, South Sudan gained independence and is now the youngest country in the world.
How Long to Spend in Sudan?
We spent ten days visiting Khartoum and the archaeological sites on the Nile River, which is a reasonable number of days.
To see most of the regions of the country would take at least a month.
What to Eat in Sudan?
Most of what we ate was standard Middle Eastern fare of grilled meats and vegetables, rice and pasta. I was tired from the lack of variety but we were traveling mostly in remote areas which didn’t have any upscale restaurants, only a few village haunts and roadside joints, like this one with Ric, Khadija and I are pictured in.
We liked a restaurant in Khartoum serving Lebanese food called Assaha Restaurant.
Is Sudan Safe?
We felt safe anytime of the day when we walked around in any part of the country. Like everywhere, it’s imperative to use common sense when in areas you aren’t familiar with.
Is Sudan Expensive?
For food and miscellaneous items, Sudan’s costs were less than half of the U.S. or Europe.
Where to Stay in Sudan?
At the archaeological sites, we stayed a few times in decent hotels and the rest of the time in tents or small cabins, all arranged by the tour company. In Khartoum, we roomed at the Acropole Hotel which was run by a Greek family for generations and was popular with international travelers. When the fighting between the militias started, they decided to permanently close.
How to Get Around Sudan?
In Khartoum, buses seemed hard to figure out but unmetered taxis are available at negotiable prices.
For the archaeological sites, we used an SUV with a driver. There were extended stretches over dirt semi-roads and we luckily had only one flat tire.
It’s possible to use buses to reach some Sudanese archaeological sites along the Nile but it would be time consuming and hard to figure out if you don’t know Arabic.
One fun thing about following the Nile is crossing it on a ferry, as we did north of Meroë.
What Languages Are Spoken in Sudan?
By far, the most widely spoken language is Arabic but there are over 80 others including Tigre, Chadic and Hausa. The official languages are Arabic and English. Knowing English, you can get by but it’s not spoken widely.
Khartoum
Khartoum is the capital with a population of around two million and a metro area about six million. Most of the sights were close by car.
The best part about Khartoum is meandering through the streets and chatting with local folks. I find that everywhere in the world people are friendly, but this is true in spades in Sudan. Every 15 minutes, someone was asking to have tea with us or take a photograph with them. In the photo below, a complete stranger embraces Ric, welcoming him to Khartoum.
Having said this, we interacted almost exclusively with men as women usually avoid engaging male strangers in this culture.
Omdurman Market
In Khartoum’s sister city of Omdurman, there’s the main market with meat, fruit, vegetables, spices, clothes, furniture, household goods, pets and the list goes on and on. Merchants are in small shops on each side of dirt streets: it’s not a covered souk you find in North Africa and the Middle East.
We spent about an hour there but I could’ve wandered around on my own for much longer, interacting with the charming vendors and friendly shoppers.
Grand Mosque
The Khartoum Grand Mosque was built in the early 1900s appropriating Ottoman architectural styles.
It was under renovation when we walked through and some areas were closed, but I read it can accommodate 10,000 worshipers.
Confluence of White and Blue Nile Rivers
The White Nile originates arguably in Lake Victoria in Uganda and the Blue Nile in Lake Tana in Ethiopia. They meet in Khartoum to form the famed Nile River with 80% of the water from the Blue Nile. We took a boat ride and navigated around the confluence.
While not apparent in the photograph, the White Nile on the right was a bit clearer than the Blue Nile. On our ride, we saw little of interest except for a few bridges and the oval shaped Corinthia Hotel, designed to resemble a sail.
The hotel was built and financed by the Libyan government under Muammar Gaddafi’s regime, costing over $100 million. It opened in 2008 and is a prominent component of Khartoum’s skyline. The building has been nicknamed “Gaddafi’s Egg” among locals.
Ethnographic and Natural History Museums
The Sudan Ethnographic Museum is a branch of the National Museum of Sudan and has a small but interesting collection of cultural objects representing the lifestyles and traditions of different regions and of the many ethnic groups of Sudan.
Nearby is the University of Khartoum’s Natural History Museum which has stuffed creatures and a few live ones including turtles and monkeys. It’s not worth a special trip but good for a few minutes if you are in the Ethnographic Museum.
These museums and others were looted and closed after the war started in April 2023.
Sufi Dervish Celebration
On a late Friday afternoon, we went to see an amazing Sufi celebration ritual, where people march spoke-like in a circle, dance with abandon and chant Islamic prayers. The ceremony takes place by the Hamed el-Nil Tomb and the adjacent cemetery. Some in the procession had wild hats and colorful clothing while others sported dreadlocks worthy of any Rastafarian.
The steadfast marchers, whirling dervishes and clapping crowd are whipped up by the pounding drums and clashing cymbals.
For over two hundred years, Sufism has been an important aspect of Islam in Sudan, providing opportunities to the faithful, mainly men but also women, to form a more personal relationship with God through their participation in weekly ceremonies. While there are several Sufi brotherhoods, a common theme among them is tolerance and love. Some of its influence is waning in Sudan, as some see the mystical part of Sufism as superstition and a few extreme fundamentalists consider it heresy.
Nuba Wrestling
In Khartoum, there are Nuba (not Nubian) wrestling clubs that compete in the Haj Youssef stadium, the only dedicated wrestling stadium in Sudan. This style of wrestling originated in the Nuba Mountains region of Sudan (near the border with South Sudan) and only involves men. Traditionally, the Nuba men competed naked in open fields but now in Khartoum, many other ethnic groups participate in the sport wearing clothes.
The winner is the one who lands his opponent’s backside onto the ground. The wrestlers can only hold on to each other’s bodies and can’t punch, kick and grab clothing. A referee ensures compliance to the rules.
Injuries happen infrequently, as there are no weapons involved, and there’s camaraderie among the contestants. It is common for wrestlers to carry each other around the arena on their shoulders.
The contests last only four minutes but are full of drama.
Nile River Archaeological Sites
Along the Nile River in Sudan, there are layers and layers of history. Our journey there encompassed the breathtaking and sizable temples and monuments, as well as minor and barely visible ones. They all told important aspects of the region’s history.
The region has had a considerable number of archaeological digs and papers published about it. By necessity, my descriptions describe only a few highlights for each location and omit many interesting facts and features.
Of note, the Nile River from the confluence of the White and Blue Nile in Khartoum to the Egyptian border is sometimes referred to as the Middle Nile.
Naqa
Naqa was a town and spiritual stronghold of Meroë and was founded in the sixth century BC. There are three structures that dominate.
The impressive Temple of Amun was erected in the first century AD. It has a striking colonnade of ram statues approaching a hypostyle hall (interior space whose roof rests on pillars or columns).
On the entrance to the Temple of Apedemak (Lion Temple) were two engraved 36ft / 11m-high figures standing with weapons in hand and gripping the hair of an enemy. In front of it was the so-called Roman kiosk which has prominent Greco-Roman architectural elements
Naqa, Musawwarat es Sufra and Meroë constitute the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Island of Meroë. The area isn’t a true island but rather a region bounded by the Nile and Atbara rivers.
Musawwarat es-Sufra
Musawwarat es-Sufra is a raised temple complex dating back to the early Meroitic period of the 3rd century BC. This site could’ve been an elephant training camp as there are two, wide ramps to ascend and descend. If nothing else, the site has many statues and carvings of elephants.
There’s also a more complete Lion Temple than Naqa and the Great Hafir, a water reservoir frequented by grazing camels, cattle, sheep and goats.
Meroë
Meroë is often the most memorable archaeological site for visitors to Sudan. Meroë was the capital of the Kingdom of Kush after Napata.
Meroë has many pyramids which were used to cover, protect and memorialize tombs of royal family members and important dignitaries. They date to the last era of the second kingdom of Kush (3rd century BC – 4th century AD).
Nuri Pyramids
Nuri served as the royal necropolis for the ancient city of Napata, the first capital of the second kingdom of Kush from 670 BC to 310 BC. Five Kushite rulers who were also Egyptian pharaohs of the 25th Dynasty (747–656 BC) and were buried here.
Rising groundwater in the area has engulfed the burial chambers underneath the sandstone pyramids. We saw a trench with water leading to the tombs of Nastasen, a pharaoh who defeated an Egyptian invasion from 335 BC to 315 BC. Because he was the last king buried at Nuri, his pyramid is in the lowest elevations of the royal necropolis.
Jebel Barkal
Jebel Barkal is a flattop, sandstone mountain with a prominent butte on one side, next to the town of Karima. The ruins around Jebel Barkal include at least 13 temples spanning over 1,000 years of history.
Gebel Barkal (alternative spelling) and the Sites of the Napatan Region is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and represents both the Napatan (900 – 270 BC) and Meroitic (270 BC – 350 AD) periods of the second kingdom of Kush. The other sites are Kurru, Nuri, Sanam and Zuma.
Early one morning, I climbed the mountain while most people were still sleeping and was rewarded by a radiant sunrise.
The Jebel Barkal Museum has three galleries of artifacts and pottery from excavations conducted in the area. In the photo, Khadija is with a gracious employee who explained many of the items.
By the mountain, close to the highway, were well-preserved Napata pyramids.
El-Kurru
The sandstone plateau by El-Kurru village contains 25 tombs of royal families of the early Napata era (900 BC to 650 BC). There are the remains of one diminished pyramid and a covered, archaeological trench leading into one of the tombs
In the pitch-dark tomb, we marveled at incredible wall paintings.
Not far away, there’s an area with scattered sections of petrified trees.
Old Dongola
Old Dongola was the capital of the Christian kingdom of Makuria which existed from the 6th to 14th century AD. Now there are few ruins, but the cross on the capital of a church column is a reference to a period where relatively little is written about.
In the 1600s, the Darb el-Arbain camel caravan route ran through Old Dongola. Somewhere around that time, large stone Islamic tombs, known as qubbas and shaped like massive beehives, were constructed. These structures were burial places of Sufi saints and part of a cemetery.
New Dongola
Dongola, or New Dongola, is the capital of the Northern State in Sudan. In 1812, the Mamluks (freed, multiethnic, Muslim slaves who were assigned high-ranking military and administrative duties in Arab and Ottoman governments) arrived in the Dongola region after they were forced out from Egypt and established a settlement here.
British General Herbert Kitchener was victorious here in 1896 over Mahdist tribes (who established a free state from foreign rule from 1891 to 1898) and later turned it into a British Egyptian army base.
Today it’s a sleepy place with many colorful gates to residential properties. We stopped here for a few minutes and met many locals by a table with jugs of drinking water for the public, including these boys.
Tombos
Tombos is the name of a series of sites by the Third Cataract with boulders carrying rock inscriptions of the New Kingdom of Egypt, which ruled this region for over 400 years starting about 1500 BC.
Nearby is a fallen colossal and unfinished statue of Pharaoh Taharqa, ruler of Kush and the 25th Dynasty in Egypt.
We stayed in a tent camp in the Tombos area. Unexpectedly, we met Josh Gates of Expeditions Unknown and his entire crew who were also spending the night. They were a few days away from filming a tomb in the Nuri Pyramids mentioned above.
We had dinner with them in the mess tent and discussed their most successful shows and the work of each team member.
Kerma
The Western Deffufa is a temple dating back to about 1750 BC. It is considered the oldest man-made structure in Sub-Saharan Africa and was built entirely from sun-dried mud bricks. Inside it has chambers and courtyards used for religious rituals and state ceremonies. It’s situated on the former inhabitation of Kerma, the main city of the first kingdom of Kush.
The highlight of the adjacent Kerma Museum were seven black granite statues of pharaohs uncovered at the nearby site of Dukki Gel in 2003. The statues were deliberately broken at the neck, legs and other places to destroy the “power” of the pharaohs,
Wadi Sabu
Wadi Sabu has more than 1600 petroglyphs made over many centuries with nothing known of the artists who created them. The easy-to-see drawings include animals, humans and boats.
Soleb Temple
The Temple of Soleb is yet another UNESCO World Heritage Site and was constructed during the reign of Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III (1378-1348 BC). The temple remained in use perhaps longer than Egypt had ruled the land. It was built of sandstone and employed traditional Egyptian architectural features.
I found this engraving to be powerful and disturbing, depicting bound, conquered Africans.
Sai Island
Sai is a large island in the Nile situated between the Second and Third Cataracts. It has been occupied from prehistoric times to today with notable Egyptian, Christian and Ottoman settlements. The following photo is the rampart of an Ottoman fort overlooking the Nile.
FINAL THOUGHTS
While this post focused on describing the archaeological wonders along the Nile in Sudan, everyday we interacted with local folks, mostly in cities, towns and villages. While crossing the desert, we stopped when we saw a nomadic family with their camels, donkeys, sheep and goats pulling water from a well in plastic bags.
They seemed to be good naturedly doing their daily but excruciating work.
Their close relationship with grazing animals and ability to live in a harsh climate reminded me again there are many ways to lead a life. Of course, this is why we travel the world, to escape our own bubble and learn about the lives of others!
