It was finally time to leave Africa. We had our Saudi Arabian transit visas, we had our tickets for the ferry to Jeddah, and now, all we had to do was board the ferry from Suakin and leave Africa behind.
It was easier said than done.
Wandering Footsteps: Wandering the World One Step at a Time » A travel journal following a family on their overland trip around the world.
Author Archives: Long before I met Bruno, he visited Sudan. He told me of following sandy tracks along the banks of the fertile Nile River; of encountering nomads in the Sahara Desert after days without spotting another human; of his inability to spend his money, such was the hospitality of the Sudanese people. This was far from the image of Sudan I had in my head.  Sudanese culture is a unique marriage of African and Arab. With its Sufi dance celebrations, bustling downtown streets, and immense Arab markets, Khartoum, Sudan’s capital, was the perfect place for me to begin my new cultural education.  Sudan is well-known among travelers for its lengthy, confusing, and ultimately pointless bureaucratic procedures for arriving tourists. We weren’t looking forward to all the offices, papers, and stress that were waiting for us on arrival. Well, I gotta say: bureaucracy has changed – for the better – in the region.  Gondar, the 17th century capital of Ethiopia, may have once been a place of splendour and magnificence. But, just like the crumbling castles and palaces of the Royal Enclosure, the majesty of Gondar has disintegrated, and it is now but a ruined shell of its glorious legacy. It’s time to say goodbye to Ethiopia. |
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