Missing home? and other Khartoum, Sudan Shopping Tips

For those moments when you're missing home and the food your mother makes, or when you get fed up shaving with a stick and want a 'proper' razor, there are a couple of shops in the Khartoum 2 and Amarat area that can provide you with most things you desire (they even have marmite!)

Many people seem to simply assume you can't get such items and don't bother looking - so try Street 1 or Cemetary Road in Amarat. They cater to rich Sudanese and expats so are relatively expensive but can definitely be worth a look!

What To Buy: Things you can't get at your local store; things you miss from home; a bit of luxury living to cheer you up a bit if you get the Khartoum blues

What To Pay: Relatively expensive but still worth a look even if you're on a low budget.

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Directions: Amarat or Khartoum 2, fashionable (for Khartoum!) areas south of Souk Arabi. Walk over the train tracks, or get a bus.

Name of Shop: Pavement bookstores

There are a lack of English language bookstores in Khartoum but you can often find some interesting reads laid out on the street, particularly around the north-west corner of the bus station and near Neelain (Two Niles) University. You'll find the same titles appearing again and again (Oscar Wilde, abridged Joseph Conrad) but look hard and you might find some gems. You can read international magazines such as Time and Newsweek at the British Council and the Akropole Hotel, but you can sometimes get more up to date copies from guys on the street.

What To Buy: Surprisingly you won't find many copies of Sudan's most famous book - Season of Migration to the North, by Tayeb Salih. Dealing with life in the UK for a Sudanese and issues of identity and village life in Northern Sudan, it's at times sexually explicit and was banned years ago. There are some copies in circulation though.

What To Pay: Depends on the book but most about a dollar or less - pretty cheap.

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