Sussing Sudan

[JohnM]

Remnants of an Egyptian-style pyramid (c. 45-degree slope). Nubian-style pyramids (to come at subsequent sites) have a c. 70-degree slope.




The physical proportions of Nubian pyramids differ markedly from the Egyptian type: they are built of stepped courses of horizontally positioned stone blocks and range approximately 6–30 metres in height but rise from fairly small foundation footprints that rarely exceed 8 metres in width, resulting in tall, narrow structures inclined at approximately 70°. Most also have offering temple structures abutting their base with unique Kushite characteristics. By comparison, Egyptian pyramids of similar height generally had foundation footprints that were at least five times larger and were inclined at angles between 40–50°.

I wondered why the Nubian pyramids had such a slope. This may be the explanation:




The next (mother’s) tomb.





Temple in the same complex. Then it was on to a spectacular petrified forest, by which time the sun was getting low in the sky.



Then it was back to the Nubian pyramids at the foot of Jebel Barkal for sunset. Sudan has about 220 pyramids; Egypt has about 80.





And back to the Nubian Rest House to end another passable day.

 

[JohnM]

Day 9.



For those that wished to - almost everyone in the group - it was up before dawn for the rocky climb to the top of Jebel Barkal.





The Nubian Rest House from on high.



The temple and pyramids.



We went down via a sandy slope and it was a short drive back for breakfast.

 

[JohnM]

After breakfast and check-out, it was back to the foot off Jebel Barkal to explore the remnants of the temple of Mut which was dedicated to Amon, and a part of the temple dug into the mountain. The semi-separate pillar at the left of Jebel Barkal was considered by the ancients to be representative of the cobra motif on the front of pharaohs’ crowns. The avenue of rams was thought to stretch back about 1.5 km to a pier on the Nile.

Abdul, our tour leader, pointing out the significance of this area in a major loop of the Nile.





The entrance to the part of the Mut temple excavated into the hill. The light was not so good for photos and flash was not permitted.





Then back for another look at the pyramids of Jebel Barkal in brighter light than the previous evening.



The circular indentations on this main pyramid are believed to have been mounting points for gold discs.

 

[JohnM]

Then it was on to the Pyramids of Nuri, another necropolis of the Napatean Kingdom. This site was about 10km from Jebel Barkal and on the opposite (east) side of the Nile. It dates around 350 BCE and is heavily destroyed. Nevertheless, it gives insights into the construction methods and is interesting.





Jebel Barkal in the distance.





Back to the main road heading S. Fuel shortages are an issue in Sudan (the new country of South Sudan has almost all of the oil reserves – a point of contention in the civil war.) Queuing for fuel was a common occurrence. It did seem that some fuel stations were restricted to agricultural usage - or tuk-tuks in this case.

On the way S, at lunchtime, we stopped at a nomads’ camp. Now, at risk of being seen as cynical (I’m a sceptic, not a cynic), these ‘cultural’ things built into tours need to be, let me say, IMO kept in perspective. It’s a good way to spread the tourist $ but it may questionable just how contemporaneously ‘real’ it is. Nevertheless, it’s an attempt to show the traditional side of local life and shouldn’t be knocked too hard.

The photogenic girl with her nephew on her knee was 13; her grandmother was 94!

Anyway, the family was very friendly, and we all enjoyed some translated jokes. It was nice.





While we were interacting with the family, the crew was setting up lunch under a tree a few hundred metres away.



Moving on to Atbara, a significant rail hub. We paid a brief visit to a small but quite interesting rail museum. The key exhibit was Kitchener’s locomotive.



And the day ended at our next stop, the fixed camp near Meroe – Sudan’s greatest archaeological site.

 

[amaroo]

Just caught up - fascinating TR.

 

[RooFlyer]

Sigh .. might be a year before I get there. Hope it lasts

 

[JohnM]

Sigh .. might be a year before I get there. Hope it lasts

You had your chance....

 

[RooFlyer]

You had your chance....

For something like this, much better to get some-one to road test the tour before I buy. It looks a cracker of a tour, but 9 days 'wild camping' as they describe it, is a bit much for me.

Have been scoping out others, and there is a good 6 day one which is accommodated at Nubian Rest house, Meroe Camp (both 2 nights) and Khartoum. I'm just comparing to your sights and it will not be as good, of course, but a good compromise. If run as a private tour I'll be able to squeeze more in than their standard schedule and may get them to add a day.

 

[JohnM]

For something like this, much better to get some-one to road test the tour before I buy. It looks a cracker of a tour, but 9 days 'wild camping' as they describe it, is a bit much for me.

Sheesh - young fellas these days . They don't make geologists like they did in MY day....

 

[JohnM]

Just caught up - fascinating TR.

Glad you like it. A little bit more still to come.

 

[Daver6]

Sheesh - young fellas these days . They don't make geologists like they did in MY day....

Your day was so long ago, they hadn't yet define a day

 

[JohnM]

Your day was so long ago, they hadn't yet define a day

And just whose side are you on .

Grumble...millennials... .

 

[JohnM]

Day 10.



The Meroe Permanent Tented Camp. Another Italian Tourism Company enterprise – and in the midst of a massive expansion/rebuilding. The tourism market in Sudan is clearly on the cusp of a growth spurt.

On that note, let me deviate slightly to quote from the ‘Why Go?’ introduction to the Sudan chapter in the latest Africa Lonely Planet:

“Whichever way you look at it, there’s just no denying that among Sudan’s sweeping hills of sand lie treasures the rest of the world are only just beginning to discover. For the few travellers who venture here, Sudan comes as a fantastic surprise. Visitors invariably agree that the Sudanese people are among the friendliest and most hospitable people on earth. And although various ongoing conflicts mean part of this vast nation remains off limits, the northeast is one of the safest places on earth. Whether you rush through on a Cairo-to-Cape Town trip, or spend a slow month soaking up the history and hospitality, visiting Sudan is a memorable experience.”

All I can say is: amen to that. It’s entirely consistent with my experience.

The camp at dawn. No, the first pic is not me teleported to Giza. The original reception/restaurant building is starting to crumble – mainly evidenced by the loosening thatch roof (which shows how long this place has been here) but there is a massive replacement in the late stages of construction, so I think they’ve let the old one slip as it will soon be redundant.



Our breakfast table set. And the view from the terrace – Meroe, 2km away. Impossible to avoid a major powerline pylon seeming to grow out of one of the pyramids. A very traditional-looking cameleer rode up and down. Great look – but when we got to the pyramids it was clear that this guy had the MBA in marketing for all the cameleers.



New central building at fitout stage to the right of the original. Lodges under construction that I suspect will replace the fixed tents. But expect the price to rise…



We then drove into the back of Meroe to start at the southern group of pyramids (left), before walking (or taking a camel ride for those that wished) across to the northern group.

 

[JohnM]

Nubian pyramids are characterised by having a small chapel frontal extension. I might just go a little more crazy than usual with pics here. One of the great tragedies is that in the early 19th century an Italian medic turned treasure-hunter named Guiseppe Ferlini raided and vandalised many of the Meroe pyramids by knocking the top off them in a search for treasure.
















And then to brave the cameleer horde to move over to the north group. They were not pushy PITAs, being cheerful and good-humoured if a ride was declined. But it was a bit of fun for a few that had not ridden a camel before.

 

[JohnM]

And the northern – and larger – necropolis. A few of the smaller pyramids have been reconstructed but that ceased when the site became World Heritage listed in 2011. Meroe was the south capital of the Napata/Meroitic Kingdom, that spanned the period c. 800 BCE – c. 350 CE.

















Looking back to the permanent camp.

There is a third part to Meroe a short drive away on the other side of the main road. It’s pretty much ruins and we had just a quick look.



Then into nearby Shendi for lunch in a local restaurant before continuing S and off the main road to visit Naga (Naqa) and Mussawarat El Sufra.

 

[JohnM]

Along the main road were plenty of large centre-pivot irrigation systems growing lucerne (aka alfalfa) for stockfeed. Trucks loaded with bales of lucerne hay were commonplace on the road.

We then turned E to Naga, the first stop in this ruined ancient Kushite Kingdom city that spanned 400 BCE-400 CE. The site has two notable temples, one devoted to Apedemak, which also has a Roman kiosk nearby, and the other to Amun. First, the Roman kiosk.




Then the Apedemak temple, also known as the Temple of the Lion.





On the rear wall of the temple is the largest depiction of the lion god and is illustrated receiving offering from the king and queen. He is depicted as a three-headed god with four arms. It’s one of Abdul’s favourite bas-reliefs but has recently been covered for unknown reasons by archaeologists working there. He said it was not covered two weeks earlier.





Then to the Amun (a deity of ancient Egyptian mythology) temple at Naga. The temple is aligned E-W and the (replica) altar lines up with a flat-topped hill in the W distance, the significance of which now escapes me. The original altar is in the museum in Khartoum.

 

[JohnM]

Moving on to the temple of Apedemuk complex. The Great Enclosure is the most extensive structure on the site. A curiosity of it is the ramps built for elephants which had an unclear role at some stage.






Various early European explorers had no hesitation or shame in etching their names into many of the historical edifices of Sudan. A pom named Holroyd was a serial offender in 1837.

 

[JohnM]

Then to the temple. A N-S orientation and the sun setting gave vastly different lighting on the main external walls.


















Then it was along a nearby sandy wadi to camp for the last time. Different terrain and vegetation than our previous camps. Nice way to finish. Again, under an airway and a good contrail at sunset. Given the availability of fuel, the crew lit a fire as a finale.

 

[JohnM]

Day 11.

Location of the last sites visited and our last camp. Fairly close to Khartoum, but Abdul says the traffic will slow us, so we need to make an early start to get back in time to visit the museum that we had to miss on the first day because of the public holiday.




Last camp breakfast and our great crew.



And our last morning walk while the crew packed up. Local from a nearby village or camp. Sudanese (read Nubian) women like colourful clothing. Those of more Arabic ethnicity tend to dress in black. The president and government are tending to push more towards the more fundamentalist Wahhabist Islam that those of Nubian background grumble about.

One of the strange things that I noticed, even before arriving in Sudan, was an inconsistency in the time zoning. This showed up on the aircraft flight path information, being 1 hour different from scheduled time, which caused me to do a double-take until I got onto the ground and switched my phone off flight mode.

It turns out that in late 2017, the government unilaterally and without explanation, changed the time zone from UTC+3 to UTC+2.

The bizarre thing for me was that my iPhone showed the correct (ie. new) time but my FitBit Versa watch showed 1 hour different for the whole time I was in Sudan. Weird! I would have thought the FitBit would pick up its time from my phone, but obviously not.



Pitstop on the way. Choose your rock…



Coming into Khartoum.

 

[LadyC]

Fascinating TR so far @JohnM - thanks for posting.