Things to see and do Sudan

Free visit. Built in the th century before our era by the successor of Amenhotep III, the "monotheistic" heretical, but famous Akhenaton, the temple was located in a fortress town designed to monitor the border with Kush. There are only three pillars of the temple to be observed. The ruins of Egyptian fortifications are visible at the summit of the Sesi Sesi, overlooking the village of the same name.

The temple of Amun in Soleib, the temple is dedicated to Tiye, the wife of the Sovereign Amenhotep III. It leaves little more than a single column, with its top dominating a heap of ruins. The remains of a vast necropolis (probably used until the méroïtique period) and pyramid bases are hardly visible in proximity. 

Why not take Wau time? In addition to the décor, the site surprises the generosity of its inhabitants and its historical richness. The island was the subject of the first French excavations after the independence of the country, under the direction of Jean Vercoutter, who was also director of the Antiquities Service in Sudan.

Inhabited from the Palaeolithic, the island of Wau served as a border at several times, as in antiquity or during Ottoman domination. A fort was built on the ancient site of another strong place, located half an hour walk upstream from the landing site along the river. From the Christian era there are four columns, one of which is to the overthrown top, unique remains of an extinct church. These two sites are still being searched and their visit is free. The largest village on the island is a quarter hour walk through fields, west of the landing site. There are some small grocery stores and tea houses, open in the afternoon for reasons of supply. Don't hesitate to walk around the area, not to mention a lot of water.

At 10 km south of the shelter, the landing is in principle accessible by taxi, for 10 SDG, or by minibus. Coming from the south, ask the driver of the minibus to drop you in the exact place where you go; he will have a duty to drive you there. The ferry goes back and returns every 2 hours. There is no lokanda on site.

It is very broad and does not reveal its treasures. It is now a Polish mission that is carrying out the excavations. Unfortunately, the most beautiful frescoes are visible only when the team is on the site, that is almost exclusively in winter. The two-storey building, on the hill overlooking the entire site, is visible several kilometres to the round. Probably a church originally, whose interior seems to have been dedicated to the royal scene. Along the river lies the remains of a brick palace, which remains a few floors, walls and arcades. Thousands of pieces of pottery litter the surrounding soil.

If you spend the night on the spot, the light at sunset is beautiful.

Formerly located in the heart of the city, the western deffufa is nearly 20 m high and may suffer as much from the birds that nest in its walls as wind and sand. A staircase leads, in two stages, until its summit, passing the corridor that probably led to the burial chamber. The old location of the houses is symbolized in the surroundings by the bases by the way.

As its name indicates, eastern deffufa is located a few kilometres farther east. With smaller proportions, its remains can see that there are two inner halls, the entrance of which is still mentioned by remnants of columns. Fragments of cylindrical stone form a line on the ground through both pieces.

A museum opened in 2008 on the western deffufa site and is expected to expand to accommodate more visitors on the site. His interest is certain because he brings together very beautiful pieces which testify to the past richness of Kerma, including statues, pottery and objects of everyday life. The inhabitants of the Région region, which archaeologists gather under the impersonal label of "Group C", were farmers, fishermen and livestock breeders. Kerma had developed a refined art of pottery and worked a lot of metal. Traditional mud houses and land bricks protected heat. They are always built in the same way in 2010, even though the climate of the time was probably more lenient than these days.

Funeral practices are also mentioned. Inspired by their prehistoric ancestors of the group said "A", Nubian used to build circular graves and place their dead in foetal position, looking east and sunrise. Depending on the degree of tension with neighbours, particularly Egypt, there is the presence of weapons in funeral sites. More commonly, it is pottery, food or jewellery for women who accompany the deceased.

All ages from Neolithic to Islam are covered, with figurative reconstructions.

The best preserved medieval monastery in Sudan. Located in the desert of the Bayuda, a decor peculiar to contemplation and prayer, it was relatively preserved armed assaults and still retains high walls thick walls, marble slabs as well as arcades and enceinte. With Old Dongola and Faras frescoes, this is the most beautiful testimony of the Christian era in Nubia. Certainly linked to the monastery of Saint-Antoine in the Egyptian Sinai and the Church of Alexandria, the monastery fell into désuétude as Islam was required in the region.

By schématisant a little, one might say that the Site site is Le napatéen. However, it is not in the same state as its illustrious counterpart. Let us remember that it is older and that the construction stone is not the same. In fact, the necropolis of Nuri précéda that of Merowe. It probably welcomes, in the highest pyramid and the oldest of the site, the most famous Des sovereigns, Taharqa, Pharaoh Black of the xxviii dynasty. This is a little difficult to see nowadays, given the level of erosion of the building, but it is in principle the fourth, starting from the south, in the main alignment. The site has over fifty tombs of sovereign and sovereign.

In 664 BC, Taharqa decided to stand out from his predecessors by settling permanently over 5 km north of Karima on the other shore. He was not really followed by his successors, perhaps unhappy about what he left from Lower Egypt to the Assyrians, returning to El-Kurru. After the fall of the Black Pharaohs, Nuri became, until the third century, the necropolis of the sovereigns of Kush. Note that, for Taharqa, controversy has long divided archaeologists as to the real location of its last stay, after the discovery in Sedeinga in the 1960 s of a grave with a cartridge bearing its name.

Egyptian influence was now considerable at the peak of Napata's power. As with architecture, funeral rites were inspired by those in the north. The use of gold masks for the deceased and that of canopes vessels for its organs bears witness to this. During the first European excavations, in 1917, we were able to discover several funeral chambers, with some of their treasures, including many chaouabti (or oushebti), momiformes figurines symbolizing servants accompanying their master in the other world.

Rendez-vous in Port Sudan! The "cournish" (Arabic in the text) looks at the docks where the cargo is unloaded, night and day. There is also a mini-bar with tea and coffee making facilities. On Thursday evening, the corniche is particularly pleasant, as the locals come to walk there. This is the perfect time to enjoy delicious conish! (we said conish).

A little north of the city centre, it is often forgotten for tourists. However, the "as-samak" souk is a lively place and many advantages. First, we can buy freshly caught fish to simmer them, depending on your tastes, in the small restaurants on site. Then you can rent a fisherman boat for a few hours. There is nothing formal, but you can get to know the sellers of the shop, listening to a place on the coast, duration and price. If you plan to take a boat trip during the day, it will be better to avoid the warm hours of the early afternoon.

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.

This is happening when you arrive in Khartoum. Or, more often than not, we pass his bed. This river is virtually dry much of the year. The water is not rare in Kassala and walks along the river while vadrouillant through fields and orchards around it is very pleasant in the good season, that is, at the end of the rainy season (August-October). The landscape is beautiful and you can make beautiful photos with the Thaka Mountains reflecting the water. On the other hand, be careful, in full kharif (wet season) it is not uncommon for severe floods to ravage the city.

You can enjoy a day to combine the visit of the mosque with that of the surrounding villages and especially with an excursion in the mountains. The Thaka Mountains give its particular appearance to the landscape of Kassala. Their rounded and picked shapes emerge up to 1 000 m in the middle of a hopelessly flat area. In fact, there is only a summit called Thaka. The others are named Totil, Moukram and Awetila. The village of Totil lies in the hollow of the relief to the east of the mosque. Overlooking Totil, a famous source feeding a well passes to bring fertility to couples. It is perfectly possible to climb to reach the foot of the granite cliffs. The hazards of the climb will bring you through caves-reposoirs and will allow you to admire impressive panoramas. Traditional houses with a thatched roof are beautifully located on the green surroundings. Of course, plan to drink! To climb up to the top, professional equipment will be required.

It deploys to the west and south of the great place of mawgif al-a'am. The area devoted to food is located in the north, with the meat and fruit hall as a gathering place. In the whole country, The are the best place to immerse themselves with the atmosphere of a city. And it does not escape the rule. All tribes and social classes are associated with it. The Bajah, a traditional majority in eastern Sudan, recognize their elegant jacket over their gallabiya. Some also have a sword. Many of these accessories are sold in some shops. It is also the shawls and the perfume essences that are characteristic of the Souk Souk.

Entry 10 SDG, to pay at the ghaffir, in the house on the left after the old door at the end of the bridge. The old town, or just the island of Suakin. A round of round land of a few thousand square metres, in the middle of an cove whose channel has been expanded over the centuries to accommodate high-tonnage vessels. The whole creek is above all a coral formation. It is, of course, that the dried structure of the animal has been used as construction material for buildings. Unfortunately, the wind, the sprays and the rainy rain will not have been enough to preserve them from collapse.

According to the legend, Suakin has been, since the times of King Solomon, the place of banishing the jinn, the evil demons that many Sudanese still fear today. A sad reputation that fitted well with its slave status for several centuries. What injustice, however, for this island, which was still an important point of passage on the road of India, before the discovery of the Cape of Good hope by the Europeans and the Ottoman stranglehold on the coastal region in the th century. Merchants from Europe and Asia had established themselves. Its location also made it the great African port on the road to Mecca. But at the end of the th century, when the English invest in the region, it's no more than a village on the margins of the rest of the world.

If you have the opportunity before you come, we advise you to see photos of the island dating from the beginning of the last century. The contrast then will be more striking. The city has been abandoned, it seems to have been bombed, mutilated. Many people were forced to win Port Sudan. Others remained and settled on the continent. Some buildings, however, retain a form that distinguishes them from the ruins surrounding it.

The two small mosques first, Shafai and Hanafi. It is difficult to date with certainty, but it is possible that they are those described by the Portuguese, more than 400 years ago. Hanafi Mosque (the most easterly) is the object of a serious restoration. And there's work! Two-storey Ottoman houses, with their typical Red Sea moucharabieh, have disappeared. The former residence of the governor of the Sublime Gate was to be the home of Khorshid Effendi, in the north-east of the island, near the Bank of Egypt building, in "best" state than the others. Kitchener had taken the portrait with his officers in this house with an open "checker" (where hearings were held), all decorated stucco. In the west of the Shafai mosque, the buildings, which are likely to be portuaire (warehouses?), are also interesting. Besides, a house (an official palace?) has partially preserved its floor and its double staircase, which still falls in ruins and gives… on a vacuum. A superb decoration with stucco features is still visible inside.

On the mainland, don't miss a small tower along the creek. In the "new" city, the Taj as-Sir mosque (closest to the old door of the city) deserves to be stopped.