Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Tomb Almahadi
Khartoum, at the confluence of Blue and White Nile, is the modern capital of Sudan. Khartoum itself was built at the turn of this century. One of the most exciting please for a tourist to visit in Khartoum is the Sudan’s National museum, the custodian of national historical heritage of Sudan’s ancient civilizations. There is also the Ethnographical Museum, which reflects the cultural life and traditional artifacts of the Sudanese people. The Museum of National History sheds light upon the diverse animal life of Sudan. The visitor might as well see Khartoum botanic garden and enjoy the wonders of natural plantations habitat. It’s twin city Omdurman was the Arab trading center and still has colorful African markets worth visiting, as well as the house of the Khalifa and tomb of el Mahdi. The visit to the city of Omdurman, from the other hand, may acquaint the tourist with traditional Sudanese markets and bazaars. It was made capital of the Mahdists who fought English colonizers at the end of the last century and; hence the Mausoleum of the Mahdi and the Khalifa House Museum are main sites of the city. At Omdurman there is a boat yard where traditional boats are made near to the Nile. West of Omdurman almost 40 minutes drive from its center is camels market. Here, camels brought from Western Sudan are offered for sale or barter.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Kush pyramids
Altaka mountain
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Alsunut town
Dubai? No - try Sudan
Speaking of major mixed-use developments, you've probably never been to Khartoum (just a wild guess!) but if you have, prepare to see it in a whole new light with the arrival of the Mogran development. While the conflict in Darfur rages far away on the other side of the country, developers are hard at work building this city-within-a-city.
The project is to include no less than 10 hotels, masses of shopping, residential, offices and more, all rising above the Nile on the site of a former garbage dump.
Don't plan on living it up down by the river anytime soon, though -- the no-fun zone that is Khartoum makes no gambling/not-so-much drinking Dubai seem positively hedonistic these days. The BBC reports that the government recently cracked down on fraternizing between the sexes at cafes around the city. Can't have that, now, can we.