In a land of bureaucracy, chaos and a terrible (former) dictator

In this country you can have the pyramids for yourself and there are two times more pyramids than in Egypt – this slogan can advertise Sudan and it will be all truthful.

In addition, the Sudanese are one of the most smiling people in the world – despite the wars (Darfur, detachment of South Sudan) and not very favorable weather (the warmest country in the world – heat almost all year round except for a short “winter”), the inhabitants of Sudan are very open and friendly to the few tourists visiting this country.

So if we endure the heat, bureaucracy (compulsory registration) and get a visa, we will definitely plan another trip to this country after returning.

Here are 5 reasons why you should go to Sudan

Meroe

About 200 km north of Khartoum, near the town of Begrawiya, is the ancient city of Meroe.

This place is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. From the 3rd century BC until the 4th century AD was the capital of the Kush kingdom.

What we can see now in the Nubian desert are the cone pyramids standing alone – there are about 100 of them and they have survived in different states (most are devoid of vertices that were destroyed by treasure hunters in the nineteenth century).

Meroe was the burial place of the Kushite kings and dignitaries – you can also see the remains of temples and royal palaces. The Meroe pyramids are different from the Egyptian ones – they are lower, steeper and cannot be entered. The most interesting are adjacent chambers with hieroglyphs and reliefs of the gods.

Meroe seems abandoned – no tourists or any infrastructure (hotel or restaurant). Perhaps, thanks to this, it is a magical place – devoid of commercialization and crowds of Chinese and Japanese tours.

Khartoum

The great metropolis – the capital of Sudan is associated with Sienkiewicz’s novel “In the desert and in the wilderness”. It is located in the place where the White Nile and the Blue Nile connects – from the bridge you can watch the sunsets over the Nile (it is better not to take photos there because of the presence of the army).

It is a city surrounded on all sides by a desert – almost everything is covered with sand, most streets outside the center are not asphalt and on a sandy road it is sometimes difficult to drive by rickshaws imported from India. Khartoum is a city of traffic jams created by cars or taxis, which are often over 20 or 30 years old and which resemble it from a junkyard. Often there are huge clay pitchers with water by the roads – anyone can come and drink.

Khartoum is a city of dust and sand – a little Arab but at the same time reminiscent of cities from central Africa – disordered, chaotic and constantly on the move. Donkeys, camels, men in white clothes and women in colorful African dresses. Arabs, Negroes, Ethiopians, Egyptians and other nations – a melting pot of races.

Tea rooms

By the roads, in places hidden from the sun, women sit with dark features wrapped in colorful materials and preparing the best tea or coffee in the world. For 5-7 SGD (around 0.50 USD) you can drink a hibiscus drink or strong coffee with cardamom (jalaba). Usually there are plastic chairs next to them, where you can sit and enjoy a drink and watch the streets of Khartoum or another Sudanese city.

Roadside tea rooms are a Sudanese invention – probably because of the heat prevailing here almost all year round. It is also a meeting place or a place to stop while traveling. For once, it’s worth trying mango juice in Sudan, which is cold and refreshing.

National Museum in Khartoum

The Museum has sculptures and objects from all over Sudan – the Museum itself is located in a not very charming building from the 1950s, some of the exhibits are behind glass showcases and in the rooms there is no air conditioning – despite this, the place is staggering with the amount or value of the exhibits collected – side by side are fragments of Nubian temples, statues of pharaohs and gods, and frescoes from the Christian cathedral of Faras (some of the frescoes are in the National Museum in Warsaw).

The museum looks dusty and old-fashioned, almost abandoned – but thanks to this we can only have ancient statues or sculptures for ourselves.

Dervishes from the cemetery

In the cemetery around the Hamed el-Nil mosque in Omdurman, dervishes gather every Friday to devote themselves to prayer through dance. This is not an attraction for tourists, but rather an authentic event – there are individual tourists here and there but most are residents of Khartoum or newcomers from other regions of Sudan. Dervishes dressed in white or colorful costumes dance and sway to the rhythm of the drums. The show lasts about 2 hours and is associated with African rituals rather than with Muslim tradition. People participating in the event join the dervish dance – clap, dance, sing – at some point, it is no longer known who is the participant and who the viewer.

Below are 4 reasons why you should not go there

Bureaucracy and a visa difficult to obtain

We can obtain a visa in person at the Consulate of Sudan in Berlin or through Polish companies. A visa for a period of 30 days costs 60 euros and to obtain it you must submit an application with … fingerprints (a bit complicated but to do) and submit a reservation from the hotel on letterhead (important!) with stamps and signatures … of an authorized hotel representative (Guesthouse “Bougainvilla” in Khartoum issues such reservations). 

It sounds quite complicated – but that’s not all – you must make a mandatory registration within 3 days of arriving in Sudan – this is done in a special office called Aliens Registration Bureau or at Khartoum airport (in the departure hall near the GAD restaurant) – in the latter place it only takes about 15 minutes and costs 385 SDG (25 USD).

To complicate matters – you need to obtain travel permits outside Khartoum and permits to take photos – this is obtained for free at the Ministry of Tourism (or you can ask the hotel in Khartoum chosen by us to arrange it for us).

Once we get to the country and then we register and obtain the necessary permits then we can start the tour.

Dirt, dust and sand

Because of its location (Sahara desert), sand enters and surrounds Khartoum – leaving the city north all the time the road leads through the desert with camels grazing here and there.

We can often come across sandstorms, sand-covered cars and windows.

In addition, the terrifying heat – in the period from April to September all heat records can be counted – during this period there is nothing to breathe and cars or taxis, and often cheaper hotels or restaurants are without air conditioning.

The best time to come to Sudan is from October to February – during the day temperatures can reach as high as 30-35 degrees Celsius but in the evening it gets much cooler (about 20 degrees Celsius).

A country of terrorists and a terrible dictator

Certainly Sudan is a police country – everywhere on the streets, stations, airports, shops, cinemas and so on there is a secret police in civilian clothes. We can’t afford to talk freely about political issues in the street. When you leave the city, you go through subsequent military checks, where our documents are checked, including travel permits.

But good information – maybe it is rather safe and you can walk around the center of Khartoum in the evening – which should be considered exceptional for Africa.

Until April 2019, the country was ruled by dictator Omar al-Bashir for 30 years – as a result of a coup d’état, he was overthrown by the military. As for Africa, it remained for a long time but was jointly responsible for the war in Darfur or the prolonged war with South Sudan.

Please note that stamps from Sudan in your passport may prevent or hinder entry into the United States.

Prohibition and internet

In Sudan there is a total prohibition – we will not buy alcohol anywhere (even in hotels) and there is a ban on bringing alcohol. We only have mango juice (delicious), tea and coffee.

Roaming is available in Sudan (despite different information on the Internet). However, there may be temporary internet blocks. In addition, the internet may only be available at the hotel and some sites may be blocked.

Practical information:

Transport – it’s best to get to Khartoum by “Turkish Airlines” with a change in Istanbul, in Khartoum you can travel by taxi, car rickshaws (they cannot enter the center) and minibuses

Due to the need for travel permits outside Khartoum – transport (car with driver) is best arranged through the hotel – then the hotel will arrange these permits for us

Accommodation – the “Bougainvilla” guest house is recommended – USD 45 for a room with bathroom in the corridor and with breakfast

Currency – Sudanese Pound (SDG) – in 2017 the official exchange rate was 1 USD = 7.5 SDG and the so-called black market was 1 USD = 15.50 SDG, currently there is high inflation and officially 1 USD = 45 SDG – at a better exchange rate you can exchange currency from taxi drivers or in a hotel)

Prices – in general Sudan is not expensive, for example in 2017 entry to Meroe was 52 SDG (3.5 USD), lunch at a restaurant for one person around 90 SDG (6 USD), taxi or rickshaw ride around the city around 40-60 SDG (up to USD 4) but may cost more to Omdurman