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.