The Pyramids of Sudan
Today is a rest day for us - in Dongola. We arrived by bus yesterday, from our Desert camp by the Nile swimming pool (Furkah? maybe). Sitting on the bus made me realise that the distances we are cycling are actually pretty large. We are covering whole countries in about 14 days - 1400km or so done since Cairo, and 1100km left to Ethiopia, and that excludes the ams done on the bus. The afternoon was spent doing the normal chores - hand washing clothes, sorting what else can be taken out of the day bag and reallocated into the permanent bag, restocking ‘Power bars’ from the permanent bag…and then voyaging into town for food and adventure. I always enjoy exploring the towns and villages in other countries, particularly those so different from my own. Dongola did not disappoint. Marty, Allain and I took a tuktuk for the 2km into town. The understood price was 20sudanese pounds for the three of us. After a jump start, and then him hoping out to turn the choke off, we were on our way. We travelled down the dirt track, then onto the tar seal, past the mosque and onto the main drag. There was so much to see. I have never been somewhere where there was so much happening at one time!
We passed someone selling lime out of a wheel barrow, right beside another man on his prayer mat on the street corner praying, groups of girls in elegant burkhas walking home from school, streets full of donkeys pulling cardboard boxes with electric fridges in, falafel vendors, fruits sellers, tuktuks left, right and centre, people drinking from mugs beside the terracotta vases….it was a hub of activity. Organised chaos of colour and life. The men were in search of food, and Mo needed somewhere to charge her phone. We located a free building on the crossroads. There were 3 chickens on skewers outside. We washed out hands in the sinks on the street and went into sit down. There was a small room through in the corner where it looked like the women went and sat. English was minimal but a jug of water appeared, and one mug. This is quite common - one mug per table. We didn’t know about table service or what the order culture was. Rich called someone over and in about 20mins bread and chickens appeared. Apparently Dongola is known for it’s chicken. You can buy it rotisseried and stuffed with rice. Our’s wasn’t stuffed but was pretty tasty. Everyone was satisfied. Mo, David and I continued our jaunt, came across a vet practice which had been open for 10 days. It was more of a pharmacy, there was a desk with a woman sat behind it. Then behind her shelves of antibiotics - injectable, intramammary and powder (for chickens). I tried to buy some apples but at $1 an apple, I compromised with 3 mangoes for half the price! The bananas were 15 sudanese pounds/kg, and the oranges 30SDP ($1 U.S). A 6am start today, and 13 of us went to Jebel Barkal a 2 hour minibus drive away. The pyramids in Sudan are shorter and pointier than those in Egypt. I really liked them, the looked like tea-cosies. It was Ryan’s birthday today too, so that made the trip more fun, just feeling like he was doing something to celebrate it.
After looking at the pyramids, and the obligatory pictures we scaled a nearby hill/rock. This was probably the highlight as it gave amazing views. It was incredibly windy and we were sandblasted the whole time. Matt doesn’t like wind, and I always tell him rain is worse, I am beginning to understand his dislike now though!
The last part of the tour was a visit to some tombs, We got there are there was a raised area which reminded me of an air raid shelter. There was an opening one end. I was expecting to go through the opening and walk along a dug out tunnel.
Not at all. It opened up inside and dropped away into a staircase. At the bottom of the staircase was a chamber like in the Valley of the Kings. It was amazing and unexpected. The whole site looked pretty new, there were workers chipping away with axes and wheel barrows at another site further along. About 20 workers, only 4 of which were digging, the others were standing around or wheel borrowing. I tried to take a picture of the site, on the right of the picture you can see the token barrel of water (orange coloured) with a single cup. The hydration for the team.
It was a two hour drive back. The whole trip cost $40 U.S but was well worth it, even just to be out of camp and seeing more of the country! I did buy copious amount of baklava though, and consume my body weight in sugar. Baklava seems to be the sweet food of Egypt and Sudan. Back on the road tomorrow so an early night tonight. Camp is in a park, by the Nile. I went down to have a wash in the river but was a bit put off by some big pipes running into the river. People assured me they were unconnected but it did bring it home that the water probably isn’t very clean…instead I filled a washing bucket with tap water (probably straight out the river) and sat in it in the campsite. I made the amateur mistake of filling the tub to full, and placing in near the tent. So when I sat in it, the water poured out and went straight over to by bag and under the tent too! The sounds of barking dogs that plagued us at night all the way though Egypt have been replaced by donkeys, chickens and the odd bull. Much more preferable. The mosques still start our day, before sunrise, although I am sure it sounds more musical and less haunting here!
