Things to see and do Gezira & Kurdufan الجزيرة و كرد

This is the main reserve (khazan) of El-Obeid water. It is located in the south of the city, just after the Hotel Zénobia. There are many urban residents and nomads in the surrounding area who go to bowls and bidons, which they carry on the backs of donkey, bicycle or car. More generally, the place is frequented by the whole city for its beauty and freshness. Fed by a source from the Nuba Mountains, the khazan is lined with thick tall trees providing a welcome shade. This "oasis" of the savanna also attracts many birds… and probably also mosquitoes. During the rainy season, the khazan is at the highest and the whole region is green. A good time to visit El-Obeid, then more spared by relentless heat.

Open every day. Offices on Sundays. Free entrance. The cathedral, which faces a proud Islamic soaring minarets centre built by the Saudis in the 1990 s, is not thirty years older than its neighbour. Located in a green setting, it has a décor and an atmosphere that we do not necessarily expect in this region. One could easily believe in a church on the shores of the Mediterranean. Rich in paintings and stained glass, the whole is very colourful and warm. The apse is a Virgin to the Child, beloved by (holy) Josephine Bakhita and Monsignor Daniel Comboni, former bishop of El-Obeid. The ceiling and side walls are also richly decorated. Note the "Ave Maria" translated into twelve languages above each arc (including Greek, Arabic, Hebrew, Guèze…). It is worth the experience to go to the cathedral during Sunday mass.

Closed on Friday and Saturday. Free entrance. In the name of the battle that allowed the mahdistes to take the Anglo-Egyptian out of Kordofan, the museum is a great part of this important episode in Sudanese national history. Of course, the battle is a little the pride of the city and its inhabitants, who are thus fully asserting Sudanese. Many objects dating from this period are exposed, the Mahdi and the battle explained. For a museum of this size, all its collections are particularly rich. From Prehistory to La, you can see several very beautiful pieces, especially from ancient and medieval Nuba sites. There is also an ethnographic space. First useful lighting in a region whose diversity is one of the fundamental characteristics.

The failure of this museum is to have days and times of sometimes fanciful opening.

The island of Aba has no great interest outside its historic links with the religious leader of the th century. Mohammed Ahmed lived several years of Islamic studies on this famous island. In the early 1880 s, he led a violent campaign denouncing the Anglo-Egyptian occupation, which found such a strong echo in the country that Khartoum believed that he would cut the character to silence. But removing it from Aba Island turned out to be more complicated than expected and the troops broke their teeth there. The Egyptian debacle searched a movement of revolt across the country, which gradually justice into the cause of Islam's self-proclaimed imam.

This past bears witness to the ancient buildings of the university (now called the imam's name), redécorée of dubious colours, and the mosque of the times, more northerly. Symbolically, a commemorative kiosk was built on the immense central square. The village is a stronghold of the Mahdiste Mahdiste party and the flag of the Brotherhood of Ansars floats here as well as the grave of the Mahdi in Omdurman.

To go to Aba, you must take the bus in Rabak (request mawgif Aba). Count 2 SDG in minibus to descend White Nile over kilometres before obliquer to the river. As an anecdote, we were arrested by a member of the Security Bureau on the island before leaving it. Apparently, the guy had difficulty believing that Aba could be mentioned in a guide!

Sinja is located about kilometres south of Sennar, going back to the Blue Nile. Like Sennar, the city was a political centre that was even more forgotten than its neighbour. And just like Sennar also, the climate and greenery of Sinja allow a beautiful half-day stroll along the banks of the Nile, or even the Nile even if You settle with a fisherman.

Take a minibus to the Sennar as-Sha'abi souk.

Sennar is now more famous for its dam than for its Sultanate. In fact, the dam even drew historical cover to him. This art book was the first modern dam on the Nile. As the keystone of the Gezira irrigation System (see box to "Wad Medani"), it was completed in 1925 and it was he who caused Egyptians, concerned about the possible decrease in flow in their territory, to conclude an agreement with the English to limit this type of construction.

The dam (sadd) of Sennar is the unmistakable of Gezira. It is right in the east of the city now on the edge of water restraint, which attracts thousands of birds every year. Pastured sheep on the green banks. The banks are covered with plants with many trees, including trees planted there! The canal system would give Sennar almost an air from the Netherlands, if there was no heat. What a change when we come from Khartoum to the rainy season!

For the visit, ask the "khazan" (the "reserve") for a Rick-shaw. But we can get there very well. The track is right on the dam on which you can walk, while paying attention to traffic. Be aware that photos are prohibited, either from the dam or from the water. The place is strategic, as we say.