sudan: the ancient pyramids of meroe
we were back in sudan again for a brief visit, and in a completely surprising turn of events led to one of the highlights of our life: seeing the pyramids of meroë. also, in order to regain my credibility with uncle jim i need to post BOTH animal and people pictures!
sudan always feels like a completely different place. for example, nowhere in the world do i feel safer. the gold shops display vast treasures in their windows with no apparent security systems in place. at 11pm at night. so of course we popped in to admire it.
we are always happy to see albert and patricia - a canadian couple who were serving as need-greaters here and are now helping in the office. we went out with albert to the well know outdoor retailer, north face, to purchase camping gear. just kidding, it was this guy selling camp beds in the streets of khartoum.
a large part of sudan is the sahara desert, and even though khartoum is hot and sandy, when you drive out of the city a little bit, the beauty and emptiness of the desert instantly strikes you.
one of the nice things in khartoum is the traditional clothes. as a predominately muslim nation it is of course very modest, and the uniquely sudanese thing is the bright colors.
the pyramids are 200km north of khartoum. we arrived and met with a friendly man named 'ahmed'. actually i can't remember his name but for the sake of the story we will call him ahmed. he showed the typical sudanese hospitality, welcoming us into his home, providing cold drinks and introducing his cute children as we waited for our transport to the pyramids.
the pyramids are off the main highway quite a ways so we had to use 'the ships of the desert':
camels are tall. and getting on one is as much fun as riding a roller coaster. first it lurches forward quite abruptly then lurches backward and then forward once again, and then suddenly you are on a 10ft tall swaying creature balanced on four spindly legs seemingly incapable of holding your weight. because of the hump, you don't sit astride like you would on a horse, but perch atop the hump with both legs forward as though you were sitting comfortably in a car.
and thus we gracefully arrived at our home for the night: the ancient pyramids of meroë. would we survive the night in this hostile desert environment? would the crazed night animals of the desert feast on our tasty bones in the dark of the night? would the haboob get us? find out in our next blog post...
