Continuing a periodic trend of visiting the world's deserts, I recently returned from spending a week in Sudan. For anyone not familiar with Sudan, its the nation immediately south of Egypt, along the east coast of Africa. Most of the country occupies the eastern Sahara desert, although its technically referred to as the Nubian desert. The average annual rainfall in the Nubian Desert is less than 5 inches.
I spent half the time in the capital, Khartoum, and the other half exploring the region approximately 350km (215 miles) north of Khartoum. While Egypt's pyramids are rather famous, most people have little to no awareness of Sudan's pyramids. While smaller than their Egyptian cousins, there are quite a large number of Nubian pyramids, and I was fortunate to visit several dozen. Tourism levels remain quite low throughout Sudan, so I was fortunate to have the pyramids all to myself. Good luck pulling that off in Egypt, even during a global pandemic.
What follows are the highlights of my time in Sudan.
IMG_0243
The Nile
Meroe pyramids
Hotter than it looks
Nurri pyramids
Sunset
Nurri
Naqa ruins
Meroe
Blowing sand
Meroe
Naqa
the void
Nurri
fuel stop
Meroe
Sunset over pyramids
IMG_0186
For the curious, many additional photos are posted here. I also spent some time in Turkey immediately before flying into Sudan, so there's some photos from there as well, but no desert stuff in Turkey.
Photos from past trips are posted here.
I spent half the time in the capital, Khartoum, and the other half exploring the region approximately 350km (215 miles) north of Khartoum. While Egypt's pyramids are rather famous, most people have little to no awareness of Sudan's pyramids. While smaller than their Egyptian cousins, there are quite a large number of Nubian pyramids, and I was fortunate to visit several dozen. Tourism levels remain quite low throughout Sudan, so I was fortunate to have the pyramids all to myself. Good luck pulling that off in Egypt, even during a global pandemic.
What follows are the highlights of my time in Sudan.
IMG_0243
The Nile
Meroe pyramids
Hotter than it looks
Nurri pyramids
Sunset
Nurri
Naqa ruins
Meroe
Blowing sand
Meroe
Naqa
the void
Nurri
fuel stop
Meroe
Sunset over pyramids
IMG_0186
For the curious, many additional photos are posted here. I also spent some time in Turkey immediately before flying into Sudan, so there's some photos from there as well, but no desert stuff in Turkey.
Photos from past trips are posted here.