Islamic Tourism – Issue 10 – March-April /2004

�

48

City Tourism

Khartoum-Mounir El-Fishawy

As soon as we landed in Sudan we knew it was aunique country with the fertile Nile mud and the

river's pure water. It is a painting of bright colours,although green is dominant. Its forests are the homes

of wild animals, rare birds and numerous differentplants and trees. They seem to have a message for

visitors: there is an abundance of food for all ofhumanity. Like the tourist industry, the country is

eagerly waiting for peace. Islamic Tourism representatives, two Egyptians and a

Sudanese coming from Cairo, were welcomed atKhartoum airport by Awatif Said, the Director ofMedia and Tourism promotion in the ministry of

Tourism and National Heritage. She gave us a warmwelcome and took us to the largest hotel in the city,

the Hilton Khartoum, 3km from the airport.On our way to the hotel in the city centre we noticedthe bright lights under the cover of the night but we

did not see many people and concluded that the citywas asleep. We changed our mind once we got tothe Hilton which was busy with guests, top officials

and business people.

KhartoumKhartoumThe tourist capitalwaiting for peace

.»eƒ≤dG ∞ëàªdG äÉ°Vhô©e øe

One of the exhibits in theNational Museum.

27-34 sudan 8p 26/2/04 5:36 PM Page 8

50

City Tourism

Islamic Tourism – Issue 10 – March-April /2004

Khartoum: Three cities in oneKhartoum is made up of three cities:Khartoum or "Khartoum General", "UmDarman" the national capital and "KhartoumBahri" the industrial capital. All these citiesare known as "The Tri-Capital".There are different opinions as to the originof the name of the capital, "Khartoum". Thegenerally accepted view is the one whichattributes the name to the location of the cityat the meeting point of the two rivers, theWhite and the Blue Niles, in a way thatresembles the nose of an elephant. Oneother meaning of "Khartoum" is the "tongue ofland extended in the water". Khartoum, in itssplendid location between the two Niles, isattractive and enchanting - it arrests thegaze and attention of sightseers who areenthralled by the beauty of the two Nilesembracing each other.The city is about 28165 sq km. Its climate isgenerally warm with temperatures rangingbetween 15-20 C. Summer is tolerable withtemperatures ranging between 25-40C.The archaeological finds in Khartoum are awitness to its old civilisation. The relics of"Khour Abu Angah", three miles to south ofthe Khour of the Nile, date back to theAncient Stone Age (10000-8500 B. C.).There are other sites from the Middle StoneAge (8000-6000 B. C.) when early man wascollecting fruits and fishing and makingunglazed pottery and simple tools. The relicsof "Shahinab" some 40 Km north of Karraryand the "Gelly" at the Gelly railway north ofKhartoum Bahri, both date back to the lateStone Age (6000-3500 B. C.).There are more relics from ancient timessuch as the Morwi period (593 B. C. -350 A.D.) the East Gerif (55 km. from the Blue Nile)and West Sororab (north of Karrary).Khartoum’s Christian Age (504 – 1504) takesus back to the State of Alloah on the easternside of the Blue Nile (14km from Khartoum)in the region of Soba. Some buildings,churches and graveyards from this time stillremain. It was followed by the Muslim periodof the Al-Fong Kingdom (1504-1831 A. D.)which saw many tombs being built forIslamic figures, including the famous tomb ofSheikh Idris Wad Al-Arbab and Sheikh Abu-Qwron in the Aelafon region.The era between (1831-1885) left the �

.ÖgòdG QGƒ°S øªMôdG óÑY ô«°ûªdG ≥HÉ°ùdG ¢ù«FôdGThe former head of state Abdul-Rahman SuwarEl-Dhahab.

.á«eÓ°SE’G IƒYódG áª¶æŸ ™HÉJ óé°ùeA mosque belonging to the Dawa Islamiah.

27-34 sudan 8p 26/2/04 5:36 PM Page 7

52Islamic Tourism – Issue 10 – March-April /2004

graves of Turkish rulers at the cross roads ofthe streets of the palace and the municipalityat the Abu-Janzir roundabout. The Mahdi Era(1885-1898 A. D.) is remembered by thewalls of Mulazemen, the South Tabiah, thepresent Um Darman prison, the Abdul-QaumGate, the Khalifah House etc.

MuseumsSudanese museums contain exhibits from allthese eras. The National Museum of Sudanhas several antique pieces that date back topre-history. Some belong to the Islamic era.The National Anthropological Museum of

Sudan has an exhibition of the materialculture of folkloric heritage which shows thecultural diversity of Sudan.There is also the Bait al-Khalifah Museumsituated at the residence of the KhalifahAbdallah bin Said Muhammad (Torschen) inUdarman with pictures, pots and tools onceused in the house.The Natural History Museum in Khartoum’sUniversity Street provides a goodintroduction to the country’s differentindigenous animals and birds. The focalpoint of the Palace Museum, in the midst ofthe gardens of the presidential palace, is a

Rolls Royce used by different presidents ofSudan or visiting presidents. The big hallalso exhibits many arms, militaryequipment, the relics of wars andmementos of old fighters. The museums show that Sudan is a veryproud nation with a long history and uniqueculture. Some museums present live folkloricdances. At the National Museum we saw oneof these performances in the presence of theMinister of Tourism and Saddiq al-Mujtabathe Minister of Culture. After Friday prayersDarwishes from the Sufi orders put on ashow called "Praises of the Nile"

The Minister of "Promising"TourismWe got a warm reception from the Minister ofTourism and National Heritage, Abdul-JalilEl-Basha who introduced us to his senioradvisers. He talked extensively about hislove of Sudanese tourism but was quite frankand admitted that despite the improvementand development of the tourist industry,especially in the infrastructure of the servicesand building sectors, the ship of Sudanesetourism has not set sail yet. "We are stillwaiting for a time of peace and the nationalunity of north and south. Peace is a victory for tourism and we areconfident that our dreams of peace will cometrue. We are busy formulating an emergencyplan to meet the unexpected demands onthe tourist sector once peace is achieved.More hotels are being built and we recentlysigned many tourism agreements withEthiopia, Kenya, Tunisia, Egypt, Syria andJordan. The implementation of some of theseagreements has started already.The minister added that Sudan is rich innatural resources which will attract tourists.There are plenty of tourist attractions in the2.50m sq km country – the size of 20European countries. We are proud of thediversity of the environment, and aredeveloping safaris so animals can be seen inthe wild. Desert tourism is also beingdeveloped alongside cultural tourism. Theruins provide an open air museum. Fivehundred Sudanese and African tribes havemaintained their traditional way of life forvisitors to see, respect and enjoy. The RedSea offers another dimension to tourism �

.≈ÑàÛG ≥jqó°U ó«°ùdG á«aÉ≤ãdG ¿hDƒ°û∏d ádhódG ôjRhThe Secratery of State for Culture Mr. Saddiqal-Mujtaba.

.áØ«∏ÿG ∞ëàeAl-Khalifah Museum.

27-34 sudan 8p 26/2/04 5:36 PM Page 5

54

City Tourism

Islamic Tourism – Issue 10 – March-April /2004

with its 700km coast, fish and coral.Undoubtedly the greatest asset, is thefriendly Sudanese people with their neverfading smiles and welcome. The Minister of Tourism is a man of vision :We pay attention to providing skilled manpower in the tourism sector by trainingabroad and exchanging experiences, aswell as expanding colleges of archaeologyand hotel schools inside Sudan.

Investment in SudanWe also met top Sudanese officials,including the Minister of Culture, Mr Abdul-Bassit Abdul-Majid, who spoke about hisdays in Egypt in the 1950s, when he studiedat the Al-Azhar University. He emphasisedthe value of the Sudanese culture in generaland the benefits of investment in tourism forthe local Sudanese. He also referred to therich culture of Sudan and the importance ofcultural tourism, and pointed out that Sudanwas chosen the cultural capital of the Arabworld in 2005.Besides investment in cultural tourism, Sudanpays great attention to investment in the touristinfrastructure such as hotels, amusementcomplexes, zoos and animal sanctuaries.These are considered strategic projects andthe Ministry of Investment providesconsiderable incentives for their development. The General Secretary of the Ministry ofInvestment told us that these incentives andfacilities include free grants of land forinvestment with a ten-year tax exemptionperiod for strategic projects. For non-strategic projects, the government offersland at a very low cost with tax exemptionson imported equipment.

Khartoum: A Bracelet of GoldThe highlight of our tour was an interviewwith a world-renowned figure Abdul-RahmanSuwar Al-Dhahab, a humble, simple,objective man founder of the Organisation ofDawa Islamiah, which he presides over. Hepraised ISLAMIC TOURISM for its avant-garde role and contribution to civilisation thenspoke about the aims of his organisationwhich is concerned with expanding the call ofIslam through the non-Arabic speaking worldin particular. It has served Africa by opening33 Islamic schools, many youth centres,

developing social services and promotingenvironmental conservation.Turning to Islamic tourism he said: "We areworking hard to introduce the Arab andMuslim worlds to the internationalcommunity and attract tourists. We are alsoconcerned with health, education, andsocial matters with the aim of creating atourism renaissance benefiting our people.We follow a well-studied scientific five-yearplan. We are going to be proud of the

reception tourists are given by theSudanese people in the north and south ofthe country.At the end of our visit to Sudan, we left thisgood land after drinking from the water ofits Nile with a hope that we would be backsoon to participate in the festivities ofpeace. The tourist genii is still in his bottle –but he will be released soon and Sudan willtake its rightful place among Africa’s majortourist destinations.

Besides investment in cultural tourism, Sudan pays greatattention to investment in the tourist infrastructure such as

hotels, amusement complexes, zoos and animal sanctuaries. Theseare considered strategic projects and the Ministry of Investmentprovides considerable incentives for their development.

.»eƒ≤dG ∞ëàªdGThe National Museum.

.ô°ü≤dG ∞ëàe »a á«°ù«FôdG áYÉ≤dGThe main hall in the Palace Museum.

�

27-34 sudan 8p 26/2/04 5:36 PM Page 3