Visit Sudan, tourism Sudan

Sudan

Travel Alert: The security situation in Sudan is highly unstable and several areas, particularly in and around Darfur, are no-go zones. Check Safe Travel for current government warnings.

Sudan is the largest, yet one of the least visited, countries in Africa. Although various ongoing conflicts mean much of this vast nation remains off limits, travel is possible in the northeast, and in parts of the south, where Africa transitions into the tropics.

The pyramids and other ancient sites littering the northern deserts may pale compared to the best Egypt has on offer, but you can usually experience these without another person in sight – and this sense of discovery often repeats itself in the towns, too, since Sudan’s tourist trail is still no more than a trickle. And while the solitude is a top draw, visitors invariably agree that the Sudanese are among the friendliest and most hospitable people on earth, with a natural generosity that belies their poverty, and this alone makes any trip worthwhile. Whether you rush through on a Cairo to Cape Town trip, or spend a slow month soaking up the history and hospitality, visiting Sudan is an eye-opening and rewarding experience.

Mapa de Sudan

Piramides de Meroe, Sudán

Port Sudan

Sudan’s only major industrial port is the base for some of the Red Sea’s best diving. Port Sudan Tourism (0311-8-22927; www.portsudantourism.com) can put you in touch with local captains. On land, watching ships unload in the port is about as exciting as it gets in this sprawling but surprisingly laid-back city, though strolling the streets reveals some scattered colonial buildings. All the services you might need are here, including foreign exchange and fast internet access, but despite its prosperity, power and water are unreliable.

Money & costs

Sudanese money can be confusing when you first arrive. Although banknotes are in dinars, prices are almost always quoted in the old Sudanese pounds (1 dinar = S£10). Assume that the real price is minus a zero. Just to confuse matters further, some people drop the thousands, so ‘10 pounds’ means S£10, 000, ie SDD1000. In addition to this, the government has announced a new currency (also to be called the pound), but has not said when it will begin or what the rate will be compared to the dinar – expect even more dancing with zeroes.

Private exchange offices have the same rates as banks, but longer hours. US dollars are the easiest to change (outside Khartoum you’ll be hard pressed to change anything else), though euros, British pounds and most Middle Eastern currencies are widely accepted in Khartoum and Port Sudan. The only way to change Egyptian pounds and Ethiopian Birr is on the black market, which is easy at the borders and a little risky in Khartoum.

Money can be wired to Khartoum and Port Sudan (even from the US and Britain, though this could always change because of sanctions) with Western Union and Travelex. Credit cards and travellers cheques are useless.

Climate & when to go

Sudan’s climate ranges from hot and dry in the north to humid and tropical in the equatorial south. September to April is the best time to visit. Northern temperatures can exceed 40°C year-round, but peak from April to July.

The heaviest rains (rarely more than 150mm in Khartoum) in July and August (Port Sudan’s meagre rainy season is October to December) present few problems for travel in the north, though wreak havoc on roads in the Nuba Mountains. Fierce dust storms (the haboob) blow occasionally from July to August and November to January. In the slightly cooler south it rains year-round, but April to November is the wettest time.

Khartoum, Sudán

History

Modern Sudan is situated on the site of the ancient civilisation of Nubia, which predates Pharaonic Egypt. For centuries sovereignty was shuttled back and forth between the Egyptians, indigenous empires such as Kush, and a succession of independent Christian kingdoms.

After the 14th century AD the Mamelukes (Turkish rulers in Egypt) breached the formidable Nubian defences and established the dominance of Islam. By the 16th century the kingdom of Funj had become a powerful Muslim state and Sennar, 200km south of present-day Khartoum, was one of the great cultural centres of the Islamic world.

Colonialism & revolt

In 1821 the viceroy of Egypt, Mohammed Ali, conquered northern Sudan and opened the south to trade, with catastrophic results. Within a few decades British interests were also directed towards Sudan, aiming to control the Nile, contain French expansion from the west and draw the south into a British-East African federation. The European intrusion, and in particular the Christian missionary zeal that accompanied it, was resented by many Muslim Sudanese.

The revolution came in 1881, when one Mohammed Ahmed proclaimed himself to be the Mahdi – the person who, according to Muslim tradition, would rid the world of evil. Four years later he rid Khartoum of General Gordon, the British-appointed governor, and the Mahdists ruled Sudan until 1898, when they were defeated outside Omdurman by Lord Kitchener and his Anglo-Egyptian army. The British then imposed the Condominium Agreement, effectively making Sudan a British colony.

Independence & revolt

Sudan achieved independence in 1956, but in a forerunner of things to come, General Ibrahim Abboud summarily dismissed the winners of the first post-independence elections. Ever since, flirtations with democracy and military coups have been regular features of the Sudanese political landscape. So has war in the mostly non-Muslim south, which revolted after its demands for autonomy were rejected.

In 1969 Colonel Jaafar Nimeiri assumed power and held it for 16 years, surviving several coup attempts, and making numerous twists and turns in policy to outflank opponents and keep aid donors happy. Most importantly, by signing the 1972 Addis Ababa Agreement to grant the southern provinces a measure of autonomy he quelled the civil war for more than a decade.

...and more revolt

In 1983 Nimeiri scrapped the autonomy accord and imposed sharia (Islamic law) over the whole country. Exactly what he hoped to achieve by this is unclear, but the effect on the southern population was entirely predictable, and hostilities recommenced almost immediately. Army commander John Garang deserted to form the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), which quickly took control of much of the south.

Nimeiri was deposed in 1985 and replaced first by a Transitional Military Council, then, after elections the next year, Sadiq al-Mahdi became prime minister. In July 1989 power was seized by the current president, Lieutenant General Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir; however, Hassan al-Turabi, fundamentalist leader of the National Islamic Front (NIF), was widely seen as the man with real power.

Port Sudan

The government’s brand of belligerent fundamentalism, border disputes with half its neighbours and possible complicity in a 1995 assassination attempt on Egypt’s president soon cost Sudan all its regional friends.

1999: infighting (& revolt)

The year 1999 was something of a watershed in Sudanese politics: in December, just when the country’s domestic and international situation seemed to be improving, President al-Bashir dissolved parliament, suspended the constitution and imposed a three-month state of emergency; all as part of an internal power struggle with Al-Turabi. The subsequent elections in December 2000 were boycotted by opposition parties, giving al-Bashir an easy win, and in 2001 Al-Turabi and several members of his party were arrested after signing an agreement with the SPLA.

By 2002 things were looking up again – the economy had stabilised and a ceasefire was called after President al-Bashir and SPLA leader John Garang met in Nairobi – but it seems good news in Sudan is always followed by bad. In February 2003 black African rebels in the western Darfur region rose up against the government they accused of oppression and neglect. The army’s heavy-handed response, assisted by pro-government Arab militias (the Janjaweed), escalated to what many have called genocide. The government’s scorched-earth campaign killed some 200,000 Sudanese and uprooted millions more.

Sudan today (an end to revolt?)

While Darfur spun out of control, peace crept forward in the south, and in January 2005 a deal was signed ending Africa’s longest civil war. It included accords on sharing power and wealth (including equal distribution of oil export revenue), and six years of southern autonomy followed by a referendum on independence. In July the beloved Garang became the first vice president in a power-sharing government, and president of the south, but was killed less than a month later in a helicopter crash. Garang’s No.2, Salva Kiir, took his place and has earned praise.

By the middle of 2006 Sudan was at a crossroads. While a Darfuri peace accord with some rebel factions was signed in May, the killing got worse and al-Bashir, fearing they will arrest people on war-crimes charges, has refused to allow UN peacekeepers to replace the small and ineffective African Union force. Meanwhile foot-dragging on the implementation of key elements of the peace agreement threatens to derail the peace in the south.