SUDAN

AL DABBAH
Sights & Sites
●Old Dongola – near Wadi Al-Malik (east bank of Nile River, opposite); deserted town, once important medieval city and departure point for caravans west to Darfur and Kordofan; from 4^th-14^th Century, Makurian state capital.

KHARTOUM & OMDURMAN
Hotels
●Acropole Khartoum Hotel – Zubeir Pasha Street (Khartoum); 011-249-18-377-2860; www.acropolekhartoum.com; journalists’ 1^st choice; reeks of intrigue.
●Bougainvilla Guesthouse – House 339, Block 21 (Khartoum); 011-249-18-322-2104; bougainvillaguesthouse.com; Norwegian-owned; clean, with rooftop bar and restaurant.
●Corinthia Hotel Khartoum – Nile Street (Khartoum); 011-249-18-715-5555; www.corinthia.com/en/Khartoum.
Restaurants
●Askela – Nile Street (Khartoum, opposite Friendship Hall); riverside location, across from National Museum; lots of fish; wonderful place for evening drink.
●Havana – Mashtal Street (Khartoum, Riyadh); 011-249-18-325-3500; Lebanese; where expats eat.
●Little India – Street 41, Plot 47 (Khartoum); 011-249-91-230-6543; Indian, Thai, and continental.
Sights & Sites
●Al Mogran Family Park – between Al Imam Al Mahdi & Nile Streets (Khartoum, 3-4 kms west of Presidential Palace); rcdb.com/5097.htm; Blue-White Nile Confluence (called Al-Mogran) best seen from metal bridge (old one, not newer, concrete one) linking Khartoum and Omdurman; NO PHOTOS from bridge.
●Al-Shifa Pharmaceutical Factory – Bahri (north Khartoum); Tomahawked in 1998; quite easy to reach (minibus to Bahri, then taxi); guards are quite friendly and will let you in for wander; contribution gratefully received.
●Blue Nile Sailing Club – Khartoum; gray-colored boat onshore about 50m from Nile River banks is El Malik, formerly one of Kitchener’s gunboats (served in Battle of Omdurman); after retiring from government service, handed over to Blue Nile Sailing Club and used as its headquarters; still operational clubhouse where can hire small boats to cruise or sail along Blue Nile.
●Camel Market – Souk Moowaileh (Omdurman).
●Ethnographic Museum – Al Gamaa Street (Khartoum, at Mak Nemir Avenue); fascinating, little museum.
●Khalifa’s House – Omdurman; Abdullah al-Taaisha, also known as Khalifa, succeeded as Mahdist leader on Mahdi’s death; his house is now museum; exhibits include various remnants from old battles and some interesting old British newspaper clippings reporting British efforts in Sudan.
●National Museum – Nile Street (Khartoum); dwarfed by modern buildings nearby; fine exhibits in dusty halls, most notably pharaonic stone carvings and stunning Nubian Christian frescoes; museum gardens also house several Kushite and Egyptian temples saved during Aswan Dam construction.
●Nile Street (Shari’a Al-Nil) – Khartoum; prettiest street, with Blue Nile on one side; lined with pretty, albeit decaying-looking, colonial buildings, most of which are used as ministries, schools and even hotel (Grand Holiday Villa Khartoum); tree-lined most of way (except towards west); sidewalk.
●Nuba Wrestling – Bahri (Khartoum, north, next to Souk Sita Al Haj Yousef); every Friday at 4pm; 2 wrestler teams battle it out; spectacle well worth trip.
●Omdurman Souk – Omdurman; among Africa’s largest markets; handicraft street is quite difficult to find (towards northern end, near gold section and not on western side); street is actually covered lane between 2 buildings with gates at either end.
●Presidential Palace Museum – Al Gamaa Street (Khartoum); housed in impressive, century-old Palace Cathedral; from paintings of Sir Gordon Pasha to more recent ruler’s Presidential cars.
●Sheikh Hamad El Nil Tomb – Omdurman (2 kms south of Omdurman Souk); www.sudan-embassy.de/Mosques.pdf; constructed in 1936; sufi dancing around 4-5 p.m.

MEROË
Hotels
●Tented Camp – Bagarwyia; www.imagineafrica.co.uk/Sudan/Sudan_Accommodation/Meroe_Tented_Camp,_Sudan.html.
Sights & Sites
●Royal Cemetery – Begarawiyah; www.shsu.edu/~his_ncp/Sudan.html; among Sudan’s most spectacular sights; Meroitic pharaohs thrived from 592 BCE until overrun by Abyssinians in 350; narrow pyramid clusters blanket sand-swept hills; some well-preserved hieroglyphics can still be seen in tombs’ antechambers.

NAGA
Sights & Sites
●Amun & Apedemak Temples – Naga; www.ancientsudan.org/meroe_gallery/index.htm; ancient Egpytian-Meroitic temples.