Long known only as the place of famine and hunger, Sudan holds a number of surprises for the tourist
During my long service career, I have visited a number of countries but enjoyed the most where one would expect the least.
Sudan is one of those places that can be described as difficult to travel in, known for its long history of famine and civil unrest. But it is the land of magic — the land of green river valleys, wild animals, vast deserts, high mountains, diverse culture and above all, most warm and friendly people. A visitor to Sudan finds all the basic ingredients of a memorable stay.
Though it has been sometime since I visited Sudan, yet the memories are fresh and I can still visualize my travel there. I was leading an official delegation invited to finalize the bilateral agreement in the context of purchase of engineering goods and providing training to their engineers.
The Republic of Sudan is rich in natural resources such as oil, copper, iron ore, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver and gold and practically a virgin land having vast potential for development in these fields. The area of the country, the largest in Africa, is over two million square kilometres. But arable land is only seven per cent. It has a population of 38 million people and GDP of $35.7 billion, with seven per cent. The Nile runs through the country from south to north.
On arriving at Khartoum airport at midnight, we faced disappointment. Though the senior Sudanese officials welcomed us in the VIP lounge, it took us a couple of hours to get through the immigration formalities and arrange for our custom clearance. The next day was Friday, the weekly off, and there was no official engagement for us. Life in Sudan is very slow and people have easy-going attitudes. Holiday means holiday. So we were on our own. The best option was to see the city, and certainly it worked out to be rewarding.
Khartoum, the capital, is located at the confluence of the White Nile and the Blue Nile. At this point the river adopts the shape of the trunk of an elephant that is ‘khartoum’ in local language. In fact the capital consists of three cities, Khartoum, North Khartoum and Omdurman (also spelled as Umm Darman). With a population of only one million, Khartoum is known as the village city. Indeed it is calm, quite and distances are short. The traffic is low and there are no high-rise buildings. Most of the vehicles plying on the road are old.
It was February and the weather was pleasantly warm. In the city there are lovely villas. Along the Nile there is a cluster of restaurants offering a variety of dishes, primarily that of meat and fish. The common drink is karkadae, which is made out of the dried flowers of a shrub found only in Sudan. It is prepared and taken as a hot drink, like tea and also as a cold drink like sherbet. During our stay there, I and the rest of the members of the delegation, took karkadae as a soft drink. It is delicious and refreshing. The drink also has medicinal characteristics and reduces cholesterol. These dried flowers are also exported in large quantities to Europe, Germany in particular.
Another agricultural produce is the Arabic gum that too is available exclusively in Sudan. It is exported to the US every year and earns the country millions of dollars.
Agriculture is the most important economic sector of the country, one that employs 80 per cent of the country’s 11 million workforce. The agriculture produce is cotton, wheat, millet, sugar cane, peanuts, sorghum, Arabic gum and fruits like banana, papaya, mangoes etc.
Our hotel was located along the White Nile. Though it wasn’t that well occupied, it was lively. The atmosphere was serene and provided a beautiful scenic view. We would stroll along the river whenever time permit. Sunset at the river is fabulous. In the night again it would be exotic and it made me wonder; would heaven turn out to be a river like Nile?
Near the hotel is Sun Forest, a popular picnic spot that is frequented by the locals. Herds of camels were a common sight in the city as well as around the hotel. It was safe to walk anywhere in the city.
A visit to Omdurman, situated across the Nile, is a contrast to the modern capital. It is the holiest city, famous for the Mahdi’s Tomb. The founder of the Mahdiyah Rule, Muhammad Ahmad Mahdi al Muntazir, who died in 1885, is buried here. The tomb as well as its mosque was re-built in 1947, which was destroyed during the British occupation. The Mahdi’s Tomb is a feast of colour. Unfortunately, it was not open to visitors during our stay. We were told that foreigners (most likely the non-believers) were not allowed inside.
Another place worth visiting is Beit-al-Khalifa or El-Khalifa’s House, opposite the Mahdi’s Tomb. A house built of mud and bricks in 1887, it was the residence of Abdallahi bin Muhammad, successor to the Mahdi. Now it is a museum where relics of the Mahdi and British Sudan, the reflections of the past glory, are on display.
Omdurman-Souq, the largest national market is of special value to the visitors. The souq was crowded with locals of various ethnic communities, busy shopping for commodities. The mingled aromas of food and spices were rather pleasant. It was colourful, friendly and traditional. The handicraft and artifacts attracted us, and we purchased souvenirs made of ivory and ebony-carved souvenirs. English, the official language, is spoken in the shopping centres also, though a few of us couldn’t help but try our hands with our limited knowledge of Arabic while shopping.
Next day our official meetings were arranged. The secretariat buildings are simple, with basic amenities only. The staff cars were not luxurious either. It was a delight to meet ministers and officials, who were simple-dressed, not status conscience and very friendly. They all were highly educated professionals and experts in their respective fields. They spoke very high of Pakistan and Pakistanis, and would proudly mention of the President Lt. Gen. Umar Hasan Ahmad al-Bashir having studied in the Staff College at Quetta as a junior army officer.
The third day was another hectic day, having meetings with the Sudanese businessmen and visiting major industrial units in the city. The existing industries are edible oil, sugar, textile, cement, leather, pharmaceutical and petroleum refining.
Our next destination was Kenana, about eight hours drive from Khartoum, in the southern region, where we were to visit the Kenana Sugar Factory. At places it was a highway, at others it was a country road. At some places the road was not even metalled and lacked the necessary infrastructure. Yet the journey was smooth and comfortable. It gave perfect sense of freedom from civilization. It was miles of constantly changing landscape. There were fields covered with their crops and then there were trees laden with fruits. The air had the fragrance of flowers. At times it was shadowy and sun-dappled. Then, there was the desert, but later we passed through an oasis that almost described a paradise. During this long travel we passed through villages and towns, but there was no proper stop-over for us. We carried lunch boxes and bottled water from our hotel. The route, partly along the River Nile, was perhaps so selected that we felt secure.
We were accorded a warm welcome there. But the real pleasure was meeting the Managing Director of the company, Dr Fadil who conversed with us in Urdu! He had picked up the language while studying in the Faisalabad University of Agriculture wherefrom he had obtained his PhD. Some of his best memories were that of Pakistan, we were told. Later, a number of Pakistani engineers and technicians working in the plant came to see us and shared their experiences in Sudan with us.
We continued our journey next day to Assalya and Rabak where we visited a sugar factory and a cement plant. The travel was delightful and educational. The same day we returned to Khartoum for a final round of official meetings. The next day, we departed. It was indeed a memorable week, well spent in Sudan doing business and having fun too.
Long known only as the place of famine and hunger, Sudan holds a number of surprises for the tourist 
