Free day: images and sounds from Khartoum

I wanted to use the morning of Friday (free day here) to work. I woke up at 9:30 but I was so tired that I had to go back to bed to recover some sleep.

The hotel here has a free tour for guests around Khartoum and I decided to take it. Fortunately, it started at 3PM.

The next pics are some highlights of that tour. I hope it gives you a flavour of Khartoum.

Ethnographic Museum

This how the Hadendowa tribe used to travel. Their way of life has changed relatively little through time. They occupy the area of Kassala State and its surroundings. Our project with the Wellcome Trust will surely interact with people from this important tribe. Note the sophisticated structure on top of the camel to protect women and children from the sun.

In the background, sitting, you can see a very well preserved mummy in a white robe or 'jallabiya'. It is so well preserved that it looks alive! ;-)

The Republican Palace Museum

It has been a scene for numerous and very important historical events. The palace stands now as witness of the historical periods in Sudan’s modern history.

I don't know the name of this one...

A sophisticated hotel by the Nile (someone told me that the owner is Khadafi, but I cannot prove it). It resembles the sail of a typical boat, inflated by the Nile winds and ready to float away...

The National Museum

The museum holds many treasures of Sudan's ancient and medieval past. They are well presented and labeled and give a good narrative of Sudanese history.

Dervish Dances in Al-Nil Tomb (Watch the video!)

Sheikh Hamed Al-Nil was a 19th Century Sufi leader of the Qadiriyah order (tariqa) and his tomb is the weekly focus of the dancing and chanting dervishes. Each Friday afternoon, before the sunset, adherents of the tariqa gather to dance and pray. The ceremony starts with a march across the cemetery to the tomb of the Sheik.

They appear a world away from the restrained white robes of any Sudanese. Instead, the jallabiyas are a crazy patchwork of green and red, often topped off with leopard skin, chunky beads and dreadlocks. The patch clothing represents a denial of material wealth.

(Some sections of text taken from the hotel's tour brochure).