Sudan: Of Chequered History, Pyramids And Internet Connectivity

From Balqis Jamaludin KHARTOUM, Jan 16 (Bernama) -- Located in northeast Africa, the Republic of Sudan is a country that has seen a chequered history. However, today it is no longer the African nation that lacked clean water, food, electricity or one that is constantly embroiled in a civil war. Recently a six-member delegation from the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) including this writer were there for a week under the invitation of the Sudan News Agency (SUNA). The first impressions of this predominately Muslim country was good with the combination of warm and chilly winds, reasonably good infrastructure and facilities and friendly faces on the streets greeting the Malaysian group. Apart from this writer, the others in Bernama's delegation were its Deputy-Editor-in-Chief (Domestic News) Mokhtar Hussain, International Desk Editor Nor Faridah Abdul Rashid, Bernama News Channel Editor (BNC) Abdul Rahman Ahmad. The other two team members were Bernama's cameraman Johari Salleh and BNC's video grapher Mohamad Salim. During the visit, Ahmed Abdulagi, a 48 year old Sudanese fluent in Arabic and English served as a guide. The capital city of Khartoum has all that a visitor will need. The four star hotel in Khartoum where the group stayed offered the guest facilities like Wi-Fi, swimming pool and restaurant like found in many other developed countries. THE UNPOPULAR ROYAL PYRAMIDS Sudan, also known as North Sudan, is an ancient land and is blessed with a myriad of natural and man made heritages that not many in the world know. This writer was astounded to learn that Sudan too has pyramids in the desert region of Bagrawiyah that predated the pyramids of Egypt. "The Nubian Meroe pyramids were built by the rulers of the ancient Kushite kingdoms thousands of years ago," explained Ahmed to the group who were taken to the site. Although they were much smaller than the ones in Egypt, they were more in numbers with 148 pyramids located in the same area. The pyramids served both as tombs and temples. On some parts of the pyramids, writings similar to hieroglyphs found in Egyptian pyramids could be seen. Mustafa Ahmad, 58, who considers himself as one of the caretakers of the pyramids, proudly told the group the pyramids were receiving more visitors each year especially during the school holidays. "We also have camel rides offered by the local villagers at the pyramids," said Mustafa who inherited the caretaker task from his mother. The four-hour journey to the pyramids from Khartoum was a trip worth taking due to the beautiful scenery of the desert, villages, and paddy fields along the way. Visitors on the way to the pyramids can stop to get some rest at Shandi, a town located about 45 km from the pyramid site. The town provides facilities for travelers like washroom, prayer room and food stalls that serve local fares. THE LIVELY NILE RIVER At downtown Khartoum, the second largest city of Sudan after Omdurman, the White Nile flowing north from Lake Victoria and the Blue Nile flowing west from Ethiopia merge at 'al-Mogran' before the world's longest river heads towards Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea. Both the Blue Nile and White Nile provide moisture to the land along the route thus enabling Sudan to enjoy great agricultural resources and everlasting supply of food. Crops like peanuts, sugar cane, dates, citrus fruits, mangoes, corn, barley dominate the river bank. The country’s State Minister for Investment Osama Faisal Elsayed Ali told Bernama food is abundant in Sudan and that cattle and goats outnumber the human population. "Like cattle in Sudan, their meat is very tender. It is because Sudan is a flat country where cattle need not go uphill and build muscles. Beef from the muscled cows usually very hard," he said. THE MOUTH-WATERING SUDANESE FOOD There is lots of similarities between Sudanese and Arab cuisine including that they are served in large trays and in big servings when compared with what Malaysians are used too. During mealtimes, Bernama's team was served with local delicious dishes. Among them the famous Biryani Rice with chicken, meat or lamb and Sudanese version of Kebab known as Shawarma apart from the vegetables, salad and dipping sauces. Each tray were shared by three or four people and each tray comes with Baladi bread, the round bread baked in traditional oven. Sudanese people complete their meal with a strong traditional coffee served from 'Jebena', a tin jug with long spout. Added with ginger or cinnamon, the coffee is consumed from tiny cups. While having our lunch in a seafood restaurant 'Samakuna Restaurant' (Our Fish) at Khartoum, we were briefed by restaurant owner Mustafa Makky about his specialty the fried tilapia caught fresh from the river Nile. "It has become a tourist attraction especially in Khartoum. People especially foreigners come here to eat the Nile's tilapia dishes," he said. The Nile's tilapia is softer than any other tilapia and is more delicious and appetizing when served with a sambal like condiment, which is made from chili, lemon, salt and peanut butter. Sudan, the third largest country in the African continent also serves as a gateway for its land-locked neighbours like Chad, Central Africa, Ethiopia and South Sudan. It has been through conflicts and natural calamities including a major deluge in 2007. The country split into North and South Sudan in 2011 and since then no major conflicts were recorded. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ SIDE BAR SUDANESE YOUTH AND SOCIAL MEDIA While the rise of digital technologies and social media caused a huge impact on Sudanese youth, they appear not much distracted by mobile phones. This is a stark contrast youths elsewhere who appear 'glued' to their mobile phones. Social media has a strong influence on locals here. Eltaf Adil Abdul Rahman, 26, said she uses Facebook on daily basis to keep her in contact with her friends and stay updated on what’s happening around the world. However, the Assistant News Editor for SUNA does not have a Twitter account as she felt that people are "talking too much" on Twitter. "I also do not have any Instagram account. It is silly. I don't like it. I feel like people are marketing themselves in Instagram," she said. Her colleague, Salma Salih, 29, also use Facebook on daily basis to keep her update with current news. The internet connection in Khartoum is good and Salma is grateful that some outskirt areas were also enjoying the internet connection. While a government servant, Mustafa Ali al-Noor, 29, use Facebook and Whatsapp frequently to keep him updated with his family who live in Shandi. "I have been using Facebook since 2010. But I don't like twitter. I think it is not good," he said. (photoBERNAMA) -- BERNAMA