Khartoum Off the Beaten Path Tips by maykal

Tutti Island lies in the Nile between Khartoum, al-Bahri and Omdurman. Surrounded by city on all sides, Tutti has one very small village and lots of open fields. A very traditional place, but bring drinks etc, as there is not much here. You can get there by taking a boat from Khartoum or Omdurman. For more photos, visit my travelogue below ;@P

Leave a Comment

Next to the new Chinese Bridge, on the banks of the White Nile, lies Sunt Forest, a popular local picnic spot. Calling it a forest is a bit optimistic, but yes, there are trees here, and it can be pleasant to sit in the shade and relax...there isn't anything else to do! Be wary of the monkeys above, particularly if you plan on having a bite to eat...they will want to join in, and are obviously used to getting their own way. Rather like the dodgy figures who patronise the forest towards sunset...we ran into some would-be thieves, which spoiled our day, even though they got away with nothing more than a quick grope...don't come alone, and don't be fooled by the "we're police" line...just keep walking!

Leave a Comment

South of the railway line, you enter the richer areas of Khartoum, the first one imaginitively named Khartoum 2. Filled with fenced0off villas, posh clubs and well-guarded embassies, there isn't much to really see around here, but if you've spent a long time in Sudan, a walk up the main shopping street towards Amarat, another upmarket suburb, will give you a taste of life beyond Sudan's borders. Supermarkets are big enough to warrant the use of a trolley, which you can fill with all sorts of imported nonsense if you've enough dinars (or dollars) for it. This is where you'll find music shops selling copied CDs instead of badly-produced cassettes, white chocolate Kit-Kats outnumber the more humble Nity in shop fridges, and boxes of Pringles and even pork products can be tracked down if you know where to look. Restaurants abound, mostly of the fast-food variety (look out for Pizza-Hat and Lucky M with its golden arches) but Indian, Chinese, Korean, Turkish and Ethiopian are all represented here. Further south, you come to Arkawit (where I used to teach in a secondary school) and the huge new Akmerkez Turkish Shopping Mall...not for tourists, but expats and rich Sudanese flock here every day for the multi-plex cinema, the bowling alley, designer clothes shops and capuccino bars. Nearby are two large funfairs, designed with kids in mind but attracting mainly young couples and groups of students.

Leave a Comment