Sightseeing in Northern Sudan

monjo — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 12:59:06 +0000

Today, I finally got to visit a small part of Sudan outside of Khartoum. The drive was long, but made more bearable by an overcast sky - which somewhat cleared during the day. Instead of 40º it maxed around 35-36.

My day started at 7.15 and finished around 8pm. Still an hour after getting home, I am just about rehydrated - despite easily consuming 3 bottles of water, a guava juice, a cup of tea, two bowls of chicken soup and a glass of milk during the day (so far). Other food consistered of some savouries from the Burj, grilled Nile perch on the bank of the Nile, and chicken, chips and salad in a Khartoum restaurant.

The first stop in the journey was the pyramids at Meroë. This is a collection of around 200 pyramids - mostly in poor condition - where there are very few other tourists or vendors. This makes it a very pleasant place to visit.

The pyramid is an iconic building design, and set against some very golden yellow sand and a bright blue sky - the overall effect becomes hard to describe. Photographically it is almost too good to be true and ends up looking like a film set.

Next up was Royal City, which was nothing to write home about - a lot of stones but with very little left. The temple at Naga gave a better insight into the building and carving style of the people.

Finally we visited the 6th Cataract in the Nile. Here we took a boat ride and had lunch. The Nile is a very impressive river, but the cataract (essentially a small rapid) is only really a minor geographical feature. Nile perch is a very bony fish and ours tasted a little undercooked. Still it was clearly fresh as it had just been caught, so the chance of any bacteria is remote.

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Prisoner of War

monjo — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:04:24 +0000

Berated and cajoled
Lacerated and mauled
He lays, chained to a fence
Completely naked, lacking defence.

Was this how it was meant to be?
A definition of freedom and liberty?

Poked with sticks, prodded with a gun
Guards standing over, all making fun.
captured they are, prisoners of war
What is the reason, what was it for?

Was this how it was meant to be?
No justification, no reason that I can see.

Just water and bread, that’s all he is fed
Battered and bruised, from his toes to his head.
Dead is his family, dead are his friends
Killed by a stray bomb, he was making amends!

Was this how it was meant to be?
And what was it for?
And why this lack of morality?
All in the name of war.

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Sightseeing in Northern Sudan

Prisoner of War