Sudan — poor African country, restless and, frankly, far from the safest. A cauldron of political intrigues is constantly seething here, the rulers wrest power from each other’s hands, and ordinary people live extremely poorly, having no opportunity to improve their lives and secure a peaceful old age.
Interesting facts about Sudan
- Before the country split into Sudan and South Sudan in 2011, it was the largest state in Africa. Now Sudan ranks only third after Algeria and Congo (interesting facts about Africa).
- Sudan is one of the many Muslim countries where tourists with an Israeli visa in their passport are not allowed to enter. The ban applies even if the foreigner also has a Sudanese visa obtained in accordance with all the rules.
- Between Sudan and Egypt is an area of over 2,000 square kilometers that belongs to no one. The British, who were laying the border between the two countries, gave these territories to Egypt, but the Egyptian authorities soon abandoned them, and the leadership of Sudan did not want to take the land back.
- This country allows “ghost marriages” — most often, pregnant women marry the dead in order to legitimize their joint children, but sometimes men mourn their dead lovers to marry the deceased. In this case, the wedding ceremony is held between a living spouse and a photograph of the deceased.
- In ancient times, the modern Sudanese territory was called Nubia.
- After the first of the world wars, colonialists from Britain turned Sudan into a cotton-producing state.
- The borders of Sudan were artificially defined by the colonialists, who demarcated the territories with complete indifference to the relations between local ethnic groups and economic ties. As a result, until its split into two parts, the country experienced one civil strife after another.
- Forests occupy only 10% of the country’s territory, the rest of the state is located in desert (interesting facts about deserts).
- Sudanese waters are inhabited by lungfish protopters that hibernate during drought and can remain in this state for up to 4 years.
- In Sudan only 50% of women are literate (against 71% of men).
- Most of the Sudanese roads disappear during the rainy season, as they are not paved.
- It is not customary to leave a tip here.
- Sudanese national cuisine is based on different varieties of beans, combined with vegetables, corn and millet.
- Sudan has very dirty water, so it must be boiled even for brushing your teeth.
- There are more pyramids here than in any other country in the world – they cannot compete with local antiquities even Egypt. In total, there are about 220 pyramids with steep slopes and a height of about 20-30 meters on the territory of this country, and all these ancient monuments are concentrated on a relatively small plot of land.
- The first settlement on modern Sudanese territory arose 8 thousand years before AD.
- The Arabs settled this part of Africa in the 640s, as the local land was rich in gold and emeralds.
- Not far from the Sudanese capital of Khartoum is one of the main attractions of the country – complex “Great Wall”. These are the ruins of ancient buildings dating from around the 3rd century BC