Sudan

welcome to africa: what a feeling to roll-off the ferry boat and to touch african soil! after a long, but safe red sea crossing and probably the last boat ride of this journey, we arrived on our beloved continent. a noisy but cheerful hustle and bustle welcomed us at the border, where we tried to get our way through all the different steps at the customs that turned out as pretty straight forward. the challenging venture was rather to find the office, where we could buy the liability insurance for the car. but somewhere hidden in a crowd of containers, between donkey carts and clucking chickens, we finally found the right box, where we received the last obligatory paper for the continuation of our trip through sudan.

we paved our way on dusty streets through suakin and port sudan, where we have got accompanied by passing tuk-tuks, minibuses, heavily packed donkey carts and crossing sheep herds. streets were lined by simple constructed shops and the sound of human bustle and honking cars filled the air. we european would tend to judge such a street life as a mess. but these lively goings-on reflect a well-organized economy and shows that diligent trade is not dependent on superficial attributes like modern shining buildings or tidied-up quarters.

after we had spent our first night on african ground at the coast of the red sea, we ventured into the interior of the country. it was definitively our so far most dangerous and horrible ride, since the road (by the locals so called «death road») was trafficked by lots of overloaded trucks, which overtook each other in a crazy manner. everyone has to drive in wavy lines in order to bypass the dangerous potholes. and of course, heavy winds, crossing sheep, donkeys and camels contributed to the tricky situation additionally. our constant tension got even more intense as a troop of hundreds of armed pickups and soldiers came towards us. not knowing exactly about the country’s current political situation, this scene was a bit scarring for us. as we reached atbara, we were not only happy about to had passed through without being involved in any car accident but also, to enjoy our first sudanese meal, a warm shower and a relaxing nap at the hotel of mister adel, where we met an irish travel companion. sean is on his way from belfast south africa to belfast ireland on a honda cb750 motorbike and was stuck at atbara because of a broken charge controller. after a long time we had seen other overlanding tourists, we appreciated this occasion of travelers’ exchange very much!

although in the meantime we are used to the feeling of being exotics, we are still getting excited about every sign of welcome, which reached us warmly by every single personal encounter in this country, including passing cars and state officials controlling the roads. we were deeply moved by the warmth of the welcome and the overwhelming hospitality we have received by all sudanese people!

a kind of destined encounter happened at meroe, the place of the splendid stunning pyramids of the nubian era. out in this fascinating yet magical sand landscape, we got to know a group of wonderful people on their yoga and meditation retreat. from the first moment on, we felt connected to each other and it happened that we not only joined them for a sunset meditation but also camped next to them in the dunes. imagine how peaceful it felt to wake up in the dawn and getting kissed by the day’s first sun rays while doing yoga on the dunes. on a dusty sand road, went past at children been showing the sign of water by their hands, we followed the group to the nile, where we undertook a nice boat trip on the river. being remembered what we have learned in school about the nile, we could hardly believe to find ourselves in this exotic scenery. its banks are lined by a luxuriant vegetation out of bushes and palm trees and providing space for a high variety of bird species. a delicious fish lunch completed our nile visit and while the group returned back to khartoum, we made our way again a bit further up north into the savanna-like countryside. there, we followed the footprints of the ancient meroitic culture to its very well-preserved temples in naqa and musawarat. we were challenged by finding our way to these historical monuments in the remoteness. but we made it right in time to sunset and got rewarded by a beautiful and - how one would call - typical african landscape, where we slept under millions of stars with the only noises of a soft breeze and the buzzing of insects. having been in this scenery gave us the unique opportunity to collect insights into the nomad’s life, how they get the water out of the ground by the help of donkeys and how they adapt to constantly changing environmental conditions. to get a glimpse of their life and culture fulfilled us with respect and admiration. sunken into all these impressions, we drove through the heat to the capital city, where a wonderful vibrant mix of islamic and african culture welcomed us. and although noise and dust of unpaved streets are constant companions there, the happiness and friendliness of the sudanese give khartoum an outstanding atmosphere, which immediately let us feel in love with this city.

and once more: we got enriched by an enormous hospitality! firstly experienced by our dear friends, roaa and rabih, the organizers of the yoga retreat and who we got to know at meroe, the place where a wonderful friendship was seeded. we felt instantly familiar to each other, like soulmates do and we were totally blessed about their generosity when they offered their beautiful flat to us. so, it happened that we had a proper home for the first time since we have left our one. we are still so grateful that we have met these exceptional and lovely personalities and that we could live in their oasis while staying in khartoum. all the inspiring moments we spent together will always stay in our hearts. roaa teaches yoga and meditation in her «my little bali» studio in khartoum and thus we not only had the opportunity to attend her classes, but also to witness what a fantastic and important job she does for each individual being as well as for the entire society.

although the country faces itself under sanctions, people are innovative and energetic, which might also be a result from the just recently undergone revolution (april 2019). there is a huge uncertainty about what the future will bring. but nevertheless, people’s hopes and dreams merge in an invisible power and we are still impressed about their content attitude and gratefulness towards life.

we spent the time in khartoum either with the care of Flora (e.g. car wash, oil change, etc.), applying for and obtaining our visa for ethiopia at the embassy (which cost us a whole day) and the same for the comesa yellow card (liability insurance for all african countries participating in the comesa alliance), chatting with friends in the nearby trendy café «ozone», the hot spot of khartoum, celebrating st. andrew’s day on the rooftop terrace of a british ambassador's house or with our friends wandering into nature and enjoying the peaceful and regenerating green of soba farm. once, on our way from the bridge in the city center, where we watched the confluence of the white nile and the blue nile, we unsuccessfully tried to catch a cab or tuk-tuk to omdurman. noticed by a sudanese driving by, he stopped and invited us to drive us there. remarkably, it was not the direction, where he had planned to go. his kindness touched us, and we could have sat hours in his car listening to all his interesting stories. suddenly, he stopped his car in front of a small grocery shop, went in while leaving his wallet and car keys with us, strangers, who he had never met before, and returned with water and snacks to show his hospitality towards us. we were so incredible amazed about bader’s generosity and could not imagine that something similar could have taken place in our home country. arrived in omdurman, we could attend the most spiritual ceremony we have ever been. joining the whirling derwishes of khartoum on a cemetery at hamed al-nil thomb, feeling the rhythm of the drums in our bodies and the singing words in our hearts enlightened our souls.

with all these marvelous, colorful and unforgettable experiences in our hearts, we set off in direction to gadaref, a place near the eastern border to ethiopia and where we got the chance to see, how sesame is processed and packaged for the world’s demand. bilal, the friend of rabih and his business companion, showed us around and generously invited us to an overnight stay in gadaref. on the next morning, we got up with the sunrise and headed towards ethiopia on a bumpy road with an average speed of 20 km/h. we definitely crawled more like a snail than sprinting like our leopard.

we have left sudan with unforgettable memories and encounters that have touched us deeply, and it is one of our utmost wishes that the future will bring peace, security, stability and development opportunities to this beautiful country with its lovely people.