Sudan 10 N / 11 D Khartoum Khartoum is the capital and second largest city of the Republic of Sudan and of Khartoum State. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile flowing north from Lake Victoria and the Blue Nile flowing west from Ethiopia. The location where the two Niles meet is known as the "al-Mogran", meaning the Confluence. The main Nile continues to flow north towards Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea. Nuri Nuri is a place in modern Sudan on the south (east) side of the Nile. Close to it, there are pyramids belonging to Nubian kings. Nuri is situated about 15 km north of Sanam, and 10 km from Jebel Barkal. All these remains belonged to the ancient city Napata, the first capital of the Nubian kingdom of Kush. The earliest pyramid (Nu. 1) at Nuri belongs to king Taharqa which measures 51.75 metres square by 40 or by 50 metres high. His successor Tantamani was buried somewhere else, but all following Nubian kings and many of their wives till Nastasen (Nu. 15) (about 330 BC) were buried here. The pyramids at Nuri are in general smaller than the Egyptian ones and are today often heavily destroyed, but they often still contained substantial parts of the funerary equipment of the Kushite rulers who were buried here. During the Christian era, a church was erected here. The church was built of many old stones, including several stelae originally coming from the pyramids. The pyramids were systematically excavated by George Reisner. Karima Karima is a town in Northern State in Sudan some 400 km from Khartoum on a loop of the Nile. The hill of Jebel Barkal is near Karima. Beside it are the ruins of Napata, a city-state of ancient Nubia on the west bank of the Nile River, including the temple of Amun. The Shaigiya tribe lived around Karima and Korti, but suffered for their support of the British against the Mahdi. The land around Karima is a center for cultivation of Barakawi dates. Karima is a terminus of a branch narrow gauge railway of the Sudan Railways system. Kerma Kerma was the capital city of the Kingdom of Kerma, which was located in present day Egypt and Sudan. Kerma is one of the largest Nubian archaeological sites. It has produced decades of extensive excavations and research, including thousands of graves and tombs and the residential quarters of the main city surrounding the Western/Lower Deffufa. The Kerma site has been confirmed by archaeology to be at least 9,500 years old. Around 3000 BC, a cultural tradition began around Kerma. Kerma was a large urban center that was built around a large mud brick temple, known as the Western Deffufa. Some unique aspects of this culture were beautiful pottery, the importance of cattle, a system of defense, and the King's audience chamber, which bears no resemblance to any Egyptian building. Tombos Ro : HOSANNA TOURS AND TRAVELS PVT.LTD., # 207/3, United Arcade, Kavery Avenue, State Bank Colony, Salem - 04. TAMILNADU, INDIA Tombos in an archaeological site in Northern Sudan. The village of Tombos was located at the third cataract of the Nile, not far from Kerma near the present Karmah. An important granite quarry was located here in the Pharaonic era. Its stone was used mostly to build statues and buildings between the river delta and the southern regions of the kingdom. A statue to the Pharaoh Taharqa, abandoned for over 2700 years, contains inscriptions. About 3000 years ago, there were pyramids dedicated to ten noble Egyptians. Bayuda Desert The Bayuda Desert is located north of modern Khartoum, Sudan, west of Kadabas, and south of the Nubian Desert, together making up part of the Sahara's eastern flank. It is located at 18°N 33°E. Within the desert can be found the Bayuda Volcanic Field. Meroë Meroë is an ancient city on the east bank of the Nile about 6 km north-east of the Kabushiya station near Shendi, Sudan, approximately 200 km north-east of Khartoum. Near the site are a group of villages called Bagrawiyah. This city was the capital of the Kingdom of Kush for several centuries. The Kushitic Kingdom of Meroë gave its name to the Island of Meroë, which was the modern region of Butana, a region bounded by the Nile (from the Atbarah River to Khartoum), the Atbarah and the Blue Nile. The city of Meroë was on the edge of Butana and there were two other Meroitic cities in Butana, Musawwarat es-Sufra and Naqa. Musawwarat Musawwarat es-Sufra, also known as Al-Musawarat Al-Sufra, is a large Meroitic temple complex in modern Sudan, dating back to the 3rd century BC. It is located 190 kilometers northeast of Khartoum, 20 kilometers north of Naqa and approximately 29 kilometers south- east of the Nile, its MGRS coordinates 36QWD3477214671 . With Meroë and Naqa it is known as the Island of Meroe, and was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011. Day 01 - Khartoum Arrival at Khartoum airport. Meet and Greet with the guide, and transfer to the hotel. Check in, dinner free and overnight stay. Day 02 - Khartoum – town tour Breakfast at the hotel and we then visit the Archaeological Museum that, besides many beautiful objects, contains two full temples rescued by the UNESCO and moved from the Lake Nasser area, when it was flooded by the water. We go to Omdurman to visit the Khalifa’s House and Mahdi’s Ro : HOSANNA TOURS AND TRAVELS PVT.LTD., # 207/3, United Arcade, Kavery Avenue, State Bank Colony, Salem - 04. TAMILNADU, INDIA tomb in order to learn about the quests of this charismatic leader that expelled the British and the Egyptians uniting the country under Islam. Along the way we cross the bridge on the confluence between the Blue and the White Nile. We then visit the interesting souk of Omdurman, which is the largest of the country and where it is possible to find some handcrafts. Time permitting we will then visit the Ethnograpihic Museum. Return to the hotel. Dinner free and overnight stay. Day 03 - Khartoum – Nuri – Karima Breakfast at the hotel and then we begin the journey northward through the Western desert. We travel in a flat desert where the view can span 360° around and we reach Wadi Muqaddam with its many acacia trees. We will stop at the "chai houses", literally tea houses, which are simply a sort of very Spartan "motorway restaurants", in the desert where local truck drivers usually stop for a quick meal and some rest. In the afternoon we finally reach the Nile in the small town of Merowe. We will continue until Nuri to visit the ancient pyramids of this necropolis. On the other side of the river, we reach the charming Nubian Rest House just at the foot of Jebel Barkal. Dinner and overnight at the rest house. THE NUBIAN REST- HOUSE IN KARIMA Karima is a small town located on the right bank of the Nile, close to the famous archaeological site at the foot of Jebel Barkal, south of the 4th Cataract. The Nubian House is a charming small hotel built in the typical Nubian style just at the foot of Jebel Barkal, the holy mountain of the old Egyptian and Nubian Pharaohs. It is surrounded by a large private enclosure, with a nice garden and leisure area. Each room is characterized by a peculiar Nubian door and has its own private bathroom and a pleasant veranda. The decor and finishing have been carefully selected. They come mainly from Italy and provide an elegant yet rustic charm. A reception, a restaurant and a living room with decorated walls complete the wonderful setting. All the buildings are made with local bricks covered by hand-spread clay plaster as used in the Nubian area. The hotel is managed by an Italian manager with the help of well- trained Sudanese staff. Day 04 - Karima - Kerma – Tombos - Sesibi Today we drive north west through the Nubian Desert, we reach the village of Kerma to visit the majestic “Defuffa”. Not far from here, among the rocks near the village of Tombos, there are the granite quarries and the remains of a huge statue of the King Taharqa, simply left there in the desert 3000 years ago. In Sebu, right on the river bank of the Nile it is possible to visit one of the richest sites of rock engraving of all Sudan with hundreds of images from prehistoric to Egyptian times. We then reach the granite boulders of the Third Cataract which used to be the third huge obstacle that the ancients Egyptians had to face when trying to sail on the Nile River. Late in the afternoon we cross the Nile and reach Seisibi Hotel. Ro : HOSANNA TOURS AND TRAVELS PVT.LTD., # 207/3, United Arcade, Kavery Avenue, State Bank Colony, Salem - 04. TAMILNADU, INDIA Day 05 - Sesibi – Soleb – Sesibi Today we drive north to reach the Temple of Soleb, the most beautiful Egyptian temple of all Sudan, testimony of the New Kingdom in Nubia, with many walls rich in hieroglyphic inscriptions, bas-relief figures and many columns. Not far we’ll reach Jebel Dosha to see a nice stele on the rock just on the shore of the Nile. Picnic in the area and then return towards Sesibi, where we will visit the remains of the Temple of Sesibi and the Egyptian colony that used to be here during Amenohotep IV times. Dinner and overnight at the hotel in Sesibi. Day 06 - Sesibi – Nubian villages – Old Dongola - Karima Today we drive south following the Nile.