Things to see and do El-Obeid الأبيض‎

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.