Dear Omsarra,

I totally agree with you that the weather is very hot but its only during the summer..winter time,its beautiful!

As for the UN personel,there are actually there to keep the peace and also to help out in the Darfur crisis.

In Sudan,there are many interesting places where you actually go and have a good time.If you like diving/snorkling,you could head on down to Port Sudan and they have some pretty impressive diving site.Another place in Port Sudan is the mountains of Al-Kewit or the Ruins of Suakin,its worth your time.As a whole, Khartoum is pretty safe and the people are quite friendly most of the time,especially those working class and the poors.

I m sorry you didn't have a good time on your visit but I m sure you will,on your next trip.

Sudan is hot! I visited my daughter there in november 2006; she was studying archaeology and also did ethnographic fieldwork. She advised me to drink at least 3 litres of water a day. I know a little arabic, which is of course useful. But in Khartoum I managed quite well with English.

I spent two weeks in Sudan. My daughter arranged a week long trip for me and her, with a Toyota landcuiser and a driver, to different archaeological sites up in the North - like the Meroe pyramids, the temples of Naqa, Musawwarat es-Sufra, Jebel Barkal, Old Dongola, and many other places. We spent most nights in the desert sleeping under the open sky and in private homes in villages or Khartoum.

We saw some tourists, but not many. The tourists were mostly Europeans ( 50 + ) familiar with extensive travel in remote areas. There is an Italian tourist company located in Khartoum providing comfortable transport and accomodation facilities - they have a Nubian Resthouse near Jebel Barkal at Karima. They also run a tented camp in the vicinity of the Meroe Pyramids.

There are of course lots of other tour operators in Khartoum.

I am going back to Khartoum and Northern Sudan in November to visit people I met in 2006.

Harald

Norway