A message from God? and other Khartoum, Sudan Off The Beaten Path Tips

This was one of the most bizarre sights I saw in Sudan - and something that nearly all tourists miss. To see it you'll have to take a boat along the Blue Nile (not always easy but ferry tours can sometimes be arranged) - you can only see it from a certain point of the river (near the Bahri Bridge to Khartoum North) and because of the required angles and light it doesn't work if you're on foot and look from the road either side of the river.

As the boat reaches the bridge, look back towards Khartoum and two otherwise mundane concrete tower blocks are suddenly noticeable for two crosses of light that appear between them. Given the accusations of religious persecution against Christians in Sudan it's quite an amazing sight and there are many stories surrounding it told by Southern Christians. Some say that Southerners employed as slaves to build the towers were mistreated and designed it like this as revenge; others say it's a message from God to avenge the towers being built on the grounds of a demolished church; or simply a message of hope to Christians in Sudan. Of course most just think it's a bizarre, accidental quirk of design. Whatever the story behind it, seeing the light shine through so powerfully in the form of a cross and the fact that it can only be seen at a certain point, makes for quite an impact even if you're not religious.

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