Sudan

Well getting into Sudan was quite an experience. We boarded the ferry at 10am and set up camp on the flat roof, fashioning sun shades made out of sarongs. The heat was close to 40 degrees so any shade was gratefully received. After a lunch of veggie stew and rice we entertained ourselves until the sun went down by playing cards and the like - all the while the ferry continued to be loaded. Departure time of 5pm came and went but at half 7 we did set off. By this time the ferry was full and every time you moved, someone tried to take your space. Despite this I managed to sleep alright. At half past 7 the next morning the captain announced we were passing the temple of Abu Simbel. Traveling for 12 hours and we hadn't even left Egypt. By the time we docked in Sudan and passed through customs it was 5pm. Over all the journey was not as bad as I was expecting!

We drove alongside the Nile passing through small villages along the way. The Sudanese people are extremely friendly and made us all feel incredibly welcome where ever we went. Sudan used to be part of the Nubian empire, the Nubians were also Egyptian pharoah's for a short time. The upshot of this is that Sudan has more pyramids than Egypt. They are not on the same scale as the Egyptian pyramids but still impressive. The picture above is of the Meroe Pyramids.
I spent a couple of days in the capital Khartoum, staying at the Blue Nile Sailing Club. The club is famous because its headquarters is in an old gunship belonging to Lord Kitchener. To get to the showers you had to walk around the gun ship which was bizarre. The gunship is on land now not even in the Nile making it even more bizarre. The heat in Sudan was oppressive. It was difficult to do anything in Khartoum it was that hot. It was around 40 degrees but with a very high humidity making it feel so much hotter than it was. I did manage to check out the national museum's which were good but mainly I spent the time lazing around in a hammock. Apparently Ethiopia is going to be alot cooler!