English Teacher in Sudan
April to August 2008
Background
During 2008, I taught English at the Winner Language Institute in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan.
Sudan, with its huge UN and other NGO presence, is not really a popular holiday destination for anyone. I prefer working in these undiscovered developing countries where one can still taste the real culture, unspoiled and un-trampled by tourists and tour buses.
I explored Khartoum mostly by foot, sometimes in searing heat, taking pictures for which I got arrested once. The president at that time Mohammed Al Bashir was indicted by the World Court for crimes against humanity. At that time civil war still existed between the North and the South, the oil-rich South seeking independence from the Arab North.
The bridges across the Nile into Khartoum proper were perfect insertion points for the Southern rebels.
I wanted to take pictures of the bridges, and other Khartoum street scenery, but this was considered to be an act of espionage. Fortunately, after lots of prayers, I was released after my true identity was discovered, i.e. that I was not a spy or working for the BBC.
Hence taking pictures was quite a challenge for a snap-happy chappy like myself. To continue my obsession I had to devise plans to take pics covertly. Most of the pictures I took of bridges and other politically sensitive positions had to be done from the hip, like a gun-slinger.
Hence taking pictures was quite a challenge for a snap-happy chappy like myself. To continue my obsession I had to devise plans to take pics covertly. Most of the pictures I took of bridges and other politically sensitive positions had to be done from the hip, like a gun-slinger.
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| Khartoum railway bridge - connects Khartoum proper and Bahri (Khartoum-North) |
About Sudan
Sudan (Arabic: السودان Al-Sudan) is the third largest country in Africa and sixteenth largest in the world, bordering Egypt, Eritrea, Central African Republic, Chad, Ethiopia, Libya, and South Sudan.
Sudan is afflicted by civil wars which have been raging, on and off, for more than 40 years.
When the colonial map-makers divided up Africa, they included in Sudan the predominantly Muslim people of the north (including Nubians), who share much of their history and culture with Egyptians and Arabs, and the largely Christian and Animist Nilotic and Bantu people of the south, who have more in common with the rest of sub-Saharan Africa than with their northern neighbours (Wikitravel).
Sudan is afflicted by civil wars which have been raging, on and off, for more than 40 years.
When the colonial map-makers divided up Africa, they included in Sudan the predominantly Muslim people of the north (including Nubians), who share much of their history and culture with Egyptians and Arabs, and the largely Christian and Animist Nilotic and Bantu people of the south, who have more in common with the rest of sub-Saharan Africa than with their northern neighbours (Wikitravel).
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| Nile sunset - near Nile street, Buri |
Khartoum & The Nile
Khartoum means "elephant trunk" in Arabic. Khartoum (Arabic: Al-Khartum) is the political capital of Sudan.
The Three Towns: Khartoum, Omdurman, and Khartoum North—together comprise the political, commercial, and administrative center for Sudan.
Located where the Blue Nile and White Nile join to flow north toward Egypt, the capital city is the largest urban complex in Sudan (encyclopedia.com).
Khartoum is a metropolis with an estimated overall population of over five million people, consisting of Khartoum proper, and linked by bridges to Khartoum North called (al-Kharṭūm Baḥrī ) and Omdurman (Umm Durmān ) to the west (Wikipedia).
The Three Towns: Khartoum, Omdurman, and Khartoum North—together comprise the political, commercial, and administrative center for Sudan.
Located where the Blue Nile and White Nile join to flow north toward Egypt, the capital city is the largest urban complex in Sudan (encyclopedia.com).
Khartoum is a metropolis with an estimated overall population of over five million people, consisting of Khartoum proper, and linked by bridges to Khartoum North called (al-Kharṭūm Baḥrī ) and Omdurman (Umm Durmān ) to the west (Wikipedia).
The Blue Nile flows between Khartoum and Bahri, the White Nile between Khartoum and Omdurman, and the merged Nile between Bahri and Omdurman.
The confluence of the Blue and White Nile, known as Al-Mogran, which confluence at Tuti island, lies just north of the bridge between Khartoum and Omdurman (Wikitravel).
The confluence of the Blue and White Nile, known as Al-Mogran, which confluence at Tuti island, lies just north of the bridge between Khartoum and Omdurman (Wikitravel).
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| Brickmaker on the banks of the Nile near my home on Nile street in Buri. For exercise, I often ran along the banks of the Nile through agricultural land |
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| Sunset cruise on the Nile for tourists and more affluent Sudanese |
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| Agricultural Water pump on the banks of the Nile. Across the Nile, the ultra-rich living in villas of grandeur. |
Khartoum climate & agriculture
Khartoum is located in the semi-arid savanna belt of Sudan, with an average annual rainfall of 100-200 mm and a long dry season from September to June. A wide range of production systems can be found ranging from household subsistence to large-scale commercial farming.
Crops grown in Khartoum state comprise a long list of vegetables, fruit trees, medicinal and aromatic plants, and field crops. In addition, intensive livestock production systems for milk, meat, and poultry are operational within and around Khartoum city.
Khartoum state with its unique position at the confluence of the Blue and White Niles represents an ideal location for food production, which is fully oriented to satisfy urban demands (El Siddig et al)
Crops grown in Khartoum state comprise a long list of vegetables, fruit trees, medicinal and aromatic plants, and field crops. In addition, intensive livestock production systems for milk, meat, and poultry are operational within and around Khartoum city.
Khartoum state with its unique position at the confluence of the Blue and White Niles represents an ideal location for food production, which is fully oriented to satisfy urban demands (El Siddig et al)
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| Seasonal farmer and a vendor chatting on farmland adjacent to the Nile |
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| Nile irrigation |
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| Temporary housing for farm laborers working the land adjacent to the Nile. During the flood season, they move elsewhere. |
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| Taking a Nile bath after a hard day's work |
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| The land adjacent to the Nile during the dry season. It floods every year, then the seasonal farmers make way for fishermen |
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| Previously farmed, now being fished |
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| Prior to the flooding |
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| The Nile during the flood season, taken from the roof of my villa |
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| Nile farmland, with the 'Beverley Hills' community across the Nile in the background - This green area floods during the rainy season. Farming is thus seasonal. |
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| The Nile in flood at dusk |
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| The Nile during the flood season, coming right up to the Nile street corniche |
Nile bridges
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| Sunset - Railway bridge |
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| Tuti bridge |
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| A man walking on Nile street corniche with the old railway bridge in the background |
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| Burri bridge |
Nile sunsets
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| Buri - Khartoum |
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| Buri - Khartoum |
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| Buri - Khartoum |
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| Buri - Khartoum |
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| Ferry terminal |
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| Ferry terminal |
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| The Nile |
The 'beach'
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| Khartoum 'beach' - Relaxing on the banks of the Nile |
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| The 'Beach', a popular swim spot and relaxation area next to the Nile- near Buri |
Tuti Island
About Tuti island
Tuti Island (also spelled Tutti Island) is an island in Sudan where the White Nile and the Blue Nile merge to form the main Nile. It is surrounded by the "Three Towns": Khartoum (the capital of Sudan), Omdurman (the largest city in Sudan), and Khartoum North (also known as Bahri, a large industrial center).
Despite this, Tuti is home to only one small village (founded in the late 15th century), with grassland being the main makeup of the island. In the past, the only approach to Tuti Island was via several ferries that cross the river every so often, but now the Tuti Bridge, a modern suspension bridge, has been completed and can be used instead.
Tuti Island is mainly agricultural and where Khartoum gets most of its supply of fruits and vegetables and therefore, you can find many farms situated all around the island, many of them still using manual methods of farming.
Tuti Island is mainly agricultural and where Khartoum gets most of its supply of fruits and vegetables and therefore, you can find many farms situated all around the island, many of them still using manual methods of farming.
You will find acres of green fields and lime groves. Its eight square kilometers (three square miles) of fertile land is covered in citrus orchards, vegetable farms, gorse hedgerows and narrow muddy lanes where donkeys and rickshaws are the main source of transport (Wikipedia).
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| Fishing boat - Tuti island, where White and Blue Nile rivers confluence. |
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| The scenery on Tuti island - Tuti bridge & Burj Al Fateh hotel across the river in Khartoum |
To view my workplace and home life in
Khartoum, click here!
To view my social life in Khartoum,
click here!
To view Khartoum streets, click here!
To view Tuti island, click here!
To view Khartoum souqs, click here!
To view Khartoum vehicles, street scenery, and road
signs, click here!
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