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16 March 1999

The Kingsmill's Trans-Africa Overland Trip, Part 12: Sudan and Egypt

Geoff Kingsmill
2006-04-25 21:25:54

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so you make your own road making sure that you can always see the next marker post. This is what I always wanted to see in Africa and have now fulfilled this dream. It was great.

From Dongola we followed close to the Nile River for three days all the way to Wadi Halfa in the far north of Sudan. This was a very beautiful, picturesque drive. The Nile River flows through the Nubian desert. Either side of the river the Nubian people make a living from growing melons, pumpkins, dates, wheat and citrus fruits on the narrow stretch of fertile lands either side of the Nile River. What a contrast. Along the Nile everything is remarkably green and fertile, but go one kilometre inland and you're in the middle of the desert. In other places where there is no farming the desert fringes the river. We have all heard and read about the Nile River but unless you see it for yourself its hard to imagine the power, majesty and grandeur of the river. The Nubian people are very friendly and are very proud of their ancient culture. Where ever we stopped we were invited into people's homes for tea and a meal. A typical house was made of mud brick with a big courtyard in the middle surrounded by a six foot high mud brick wall to keep the sand out. The rooms are simply furnished mostly containing just beds and mats to sit on. Cooking is done using a gas stove.

Wadi Halfa is the most northerly town in Sudan and has a population of around fifteen thousand and sits on the south eastern shores of Lake Nassar. The Nubian people still talk about the old Wadi Halfa which is now under water due to the construction of the High Dam at Aswan in Egypt. The dam was built against the wishes of the Sudanese Nubian people. They were never compensated for the loss of their town. Today Wadi Halfa is a frontier town. On Tuesday each week the train arrives from Khartoum and the passenger ferry from Aswan Egypt. The following day the train and ferry leave and the town returns to its ...

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