Sudan Scouting 2018






ARRIVING IN KHARTOUM

by JoMarie Fecci


KHARTOUM, SUDAN (3 April 2018) — It was after dark when my flight touched down in Khartoum, but as we de-planed the first thing I noticed was that it was considerably hotter than it had been in Egypt. The airport was smaller and less hectic than Cairo, too. Border formalities were simple and went off without a single complication despite all my pre-trip worries over the visa and travel permits. In fact just a few days prior to my departure from home, the President of Sudan Omar al-Bashir issued a new decree removing the requirement for internal permissions to travel outside of Khartoum and making the whole visa process easier, too.

From the airport we made a brief stop to change money before continuing on to the hotel. The city seemed almost calm compared to the chaos of Cairo traffic, and though it is a bustling capital Khartoum has a more clearly African rhythm to it — there is an element of “laid back”-ness that felt very welcome after the long day’s journey. Even more welcoming was the reception I received upon my arrival to the Acropole Hotel. The family-owned property opened in 1952 and is the oldest existing hotel in Khartoum. The hotel itself has an interesting story and an outstanding level of hospitality that is not often seen these days. The owners, the Greek Pagoulatos family, run the day-to-day operations of the property and have over the years been a resource for the many journalists, aid workers, and researchers who’ve stayed there.

George Pagoulatos greeted me with a cool refreshing softdrink and gave me a quick introduction to the property before I settled in to the warm Sudanese evening. I immediately liked the Acropole for its mix of old-style charm and modern conveniences and was doubly glad for the good internet connection and the small restaurant upstairs.

Despite a desire to get out and explore, I was just really exhausted from the day, and I know that tomorrow begins a whole new adventure, so I shut down my computer and lowered the air conditioning and went to sleep early …


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ABOUT THE EXPEDITION


JoMarie Fecci, of USnomads, sets off on an independent scouting trip across Egypt and Sudan in preparation for an up-coming Sahara expedition. Driving locally-sourced Toyotas and working with small local teams in each region, she will traverse a winding route that jumps off from key points along the Nile as far south as Khartoum, where the Blue and White Niles meet. During the journey she will visit a series of UNESCO world heritage sites focused on the ancient civilizations that occupied the region and meet with local communities. The primary goal of this mission is to assess terrain, security, driving conditions, logistical concerns and approximate timeframes for future travel.


WHERE WE ARE


The Sudan in Northeast Africa is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west and Libya to the northwest. The country has a total area of 1.861.484 square kilometres (718.722 square miles), making it the third largest in Africa. The terrain is generally flat plains, broken by several mountain ranges. In the west the Deriba Caldera (3,042 m or 9,980 ft), located in the Marrah Mountains, is the highest point in Sudan. In the east are the Red Sea Hills. The name Sudan derives from the Arabic “bilād as-sūdān” or “the lands of the Blacks.” The population of roughly 37 million people is made up of 597 different ethnic or tribal groups speaking over 400 different languages and dialects. Sudanese Arabs are by far the largest ethnic group, estimated to account for 70% of the population. They are almost entirely Muslims. The majority speak Sudanese Arabic, with some different Arabic dialects, while many Arabized and indigenous tribes like the Fur, Zaghawa, Borgo, Masalit and some Baggara ethnic groups, speak Chadian Arabic. The nation’s official languages are Arabic and English. Sudanese history goes back to Antiquity, when the Meroitic-speaking Kingdom of Kush controlled northern and central Sudan and, for nearly a century, Egypt.


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