the times Saturday August 26 2017

26 Travel

Sunset at the pyramids at Meroein Sudan, and I have the ancientUnesco world heritage site tomyself. The heat of the day(45C, no less) rises from thesandstone steps of the remainsof the pyramid of Queen

Amanishaketo, where I’m waiting towatch the sun slip beyond the horizon.

And so it does, in a perfect tangerineorb. The wide expanse of the Saharastretches ahead. All around ancient tombsare bathed in gold, casting shadows inmysterious passageways.

This is one of the most sacred places ofthe little-known Kingdom of Kush(2,400BC to AD400) that once ruledEgypt and went on to conquer lands as farnorth as Lebanon. These pyramids are theremains of a thriving nation.

They also happen to be one of the finestsights in Africa. From a distance they looklike a great mouth of teeth, some perfectlysharp while others seemingly in need of afilling (thanks to damage by an early 19th-century Italian treasure hunter). The pyra-mids at Giza may win the prize for gran-deur, but Meroe’s remoteness in this vastexpanse of sand is incredibly evocative.

While Sudan’s attractions are well offthe beaten track — attracting few outsidevisitors — most people are well aware ofthe country. Not, perhaps, for the best ofreasons. In recent years it has had a torridtime. In 2011, after a bitter struggle, theindependent state of South Sudan becamethe world’s youngest country. This bloodystruggle had been the result of religiousdifferences: the south is mainly Christianand animist, while Sudan is an Islamicstate with a 97 per cent Muslim population.

Since independence things have notgone well for the fledgling nation. Asubsequent civil war resulted in more than300,000 deaths and the displacement ofthree million people. The conflict contin-ues. Meanwhile, in Sudan, tribal conflict inthe western Darfur region has been on andoff since the Eighties. It is estimated that

Adventure

Deep in the desert in ancient SudanThis little-visited nation has more pyramids than Egypt, and travel companies are now running great trips. By Tom Chesshyre

more than 2.5 million have been displacedand 300,000 killed.

Given that Sudan has been ruled by adictator (President al-Bashir) since 1989,whose elections are widely suspected to berigged and who is wanted by the Inter-national Criminal Court on charges ofgenocide and war crimes, you may bewondering whether you would be betteroff in Marbella again this year.

Sudan, however, is such a massivecountry that troubles in the south and westdo not affect the safety of visitors to itsmain historical sites in Khartoum, thecapital, and in the land to the north,running up to its border with Egypt. TheForeign Office says it is fine to visit (themain season is October to April, whendaily high temperatures are about 25-30C)and a growing number of British specialisttour operators are offering trips.

The country is also about to enjoy the ex-posure of a big Hollywood film. InSeptember Angelina Jolie will come to filmHistory Has Started From Here, telling thestory of a prominent Meroitic queen. TheKingdom of Kush is about to hit the silverscreens. Is tourism about to take off?

Perhaps — although a holiday in Sudanremains one for the adventurous with alove of ancient civilisations. It also helps tohave an interest in Britain’s more recentinvolvement in the country. Before learn-ing more about the latter, however, I dowhat most tourists do when they arrive inthe capital and head to the confluence ofthe Blue and White Nile rivers.

Reaching this point — the reasonKhartoum exists — provides a lesson inthe realpolitik of Sudan today. To get thereyou must go through a small park, butunless you are with a guide who knows theattendant you will be stuck. This is becausethe park has been closed for more than ayear, probably due to its sensitive locationclose to the national assembly buildingacross the river.

“I have the key to the confluence,”says Abdelmoneim, after discreetlydistributing a few Sudanesepounds. He is holding the key to agate that leads to the meetingpoint of the Blue Nile (whichoriginates in Ethiopia) with theWhite Nile (formed by aRwandan spring). And what isremarkable is that their namesring true: the Ethiopian water isindeed an inky-blue while theRwandan flow is muddy-white.

Khartoum is full of intrigue.Our second stop is Khalifa’s House inOmdurman, a series of ramshackle mud-brick buildings across the White Nile.Here the story is told of how Charles Gor-don, the British military campaigner and

skin handbags and snake-skin shoes, ashifty looking man comes in while I am vi-siting and shuffles to the stallholder. Hewhispers something and soon elephanttusks are out and negotiations begin. Theivory trade is alive and well in Khartoum.

So too is Sufism, the mystical wing ofIslam. One evening I attend a get-togetherof whirling dervishes at the tomb of the19th-century Sufi leader Sheikh Hamedal-Nil. These are held every Friday beforesunset, with a great circle of Sufi followerswatching trance-like dancers on a dustyplot, some gesticulating wildly and wear-ing cattle horn headgear, others drapedwith beads and hopping as though tread-ing on hot stones. Only a few “whirl”.Incense wafts in the air. Cymbals clash.

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hero of Far East campaigns, was sent toSudan to evacuate Egyptian garrisons inthe face of attacks by local forces led by acharismatic and fierce leader, the Mahdi.

Instead of carrying out his orders to theletter, Gordon interpreted them to takecharge of Sudan on Britain’s behalf. Soon,however, he ran into trouble and was sur-rounded in Khartoum by the Mahdi. InJanuary 1885, two days short of being re-lieved by troops heading down the Nile, hisfort was sacked and he was decapitated.

It was a bloody deed that shocked Victo-rian Britain; the museum displays the rudi-mentary spears, shields and chain mailused by Gordon’s attackers, as well as hisoffice chair and clothing. It took until 1898

for General Kitchener to defeat theMahdist armies, which were by that

time commanded by a figure knownas Khalifa, the “successor”. Britain,with Egypt as a passive partner,went on to rule Sudan until inde-pendence in 1956.

From Khalifa’s House, it is ashort walk past the Mahdi’sdomed-topped tomb to the souk at

Omdurman, not far from whereKitchener won his decisive battle (a

complete mismatch in which 10,000Sudanese died). The souk, the largest in

Sudan, is labyrinthine and full of every-thing and anything, including bright fab-rics, fish, fruit, bongo drums and delicatewood carvings. In a shop selling crocodile-

Pyramids of Meroe in Sudan

The Roman kiosk at the Temple of Apedemak (Lion Temple) in Naqa

the times Saturday August 26 2017

Travel 27GETTY IMAGES; ALAMY

stone figures from King Taharqa’s tomband a “Meroitic Venus” from the RoyalCity of Meroe.

Then we drive through a shanty town —home to South Sudanese refugees — onthe edge of the capital to watch a Nubianwrestling bout. This is held in an oval arenawith hundreds of spectators screamingand urging on the muscle-bound partici-pants, who have four minutes to toppletheir opponent: the first knockdown wins.

The atmosphere is raucous. Victors areraised triumphantly on shoulders. Losers(usually) grin and shrug shoulders. It iselectrifying. Policemen with batons paceby, maintaining order. The sun beats down.And, not for the first time during my trip toSudan, I’m the only tourist.

Tom Chesshyre was a guest of Cox & Kings (020 3642 0861, coxandkings.co.uk), which has an 11-day, 8-night escorted tour to Sudan from £3,045pp, including flights, transfers, excursions and hotels with breakfast and most other meals. For the latest Foreign & Commonwealth Office travel advice, see gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice

was dug up by a Liverpudlian treasurehunter in 1911 and is now in the BritishMuseum in London.

It is a long, hot drive across the Bayudadesert to Karima and the mountain of JebelBarkal, facing a bend of the Nile. We arestaying next door at the lovely Nubian RestHouse, with its domes and bougainvilleaand perfect lawns (described in my guide-book as “Sudan’s only boutique hotel”).

Jebel Barkal was the epicentre of Kush-ite rule when King Piye attacked Egypt in720BC; his son, King Taharqa, laterextended the domain to Lebanon, beforeSyrians pushed the Kushites back. Thehighlight of the mountain is a tall columnof rock resembling a cobra. At its foot is atemple-cave in which Kushite queens gavebirth. At sunset I climb to the top beforesliding down the giant sand dune on itswestern side.

My final day in the desert is spent visit-ing the Third Cataract — rapids where acontroversial dam may soon be construct-ed — seeing 10,000-year-old carvings of li-ons and boats on boulders in a wadi, andstopping at Kerma, the original Kushitecity from 2,400BC. To think that the giantmud temple here dates from so long ago ismind-blowing. The Egyptians destroyedthe rest of city in 1,500BC during a raid.

We finish our tour in Khartoum withtwo marvellous visits. The first is to thenational museum, full of treasures recov-ered from the sites, including statues,

Need to know

Drums beat. Crowds chant “Allah! Allah!Allah!” I chat to the only other holiday-maker, a Japanese woman. However,before I know it I am confronted by astocky man in a tracksuit who exchangeswords with my guide.

“He is secret police and he doesn’t likeyou,” says my guide after the man goesaway. The secret policeman had ques-tioned my notebook. I am travelling on atourist’s visa rather than a journalist’svisa . . . and reporters are regarded withgreat suspicion in Sudan.

From Khartoum we drive through bak-ing desert to Meroe, staying at the brilliantMeroe Permanent Tented Camp. We usethis as a base to see the pyramids — thereare about 200 in the country — as well asa fine reconstructed temple at Naqa devot-ed to Apedemak, the Kushite lion god.

This was built in the 1st century. What isstriking is that its depiction of QueenAmanitore shows her with wide hips andcurly hair. She is also the same size as herhusband. Queens on ancient Egyptiantombs are much more slender, withstraight hair. While earlier Kingdom ofKush works aped the Egyptian style of ide-alised figures, the Kushites had by thisstage developed the self-confidence to in-troduce homegrown art that reflectedlocal Nubian people. It is also interesting tonote the importance of powerful women.

None was stronger than the legendaryQueen Amanirenas, whose troops defeat-

ed Augustus in AD24. This is who Angeli-na Jolie will play in History Has StartedFrom Here. We visit the queen’salmost de-stroyed Victory Arch at the Royal City ofMeroe, where she buried a bronze head ofAugustus taken when the Kushites sackedAswan. The idea was that her followerscould trample on Augustus. This bronze

The Mahdi’s tomb in Khartoum