"Marawi old and new" Marawi by uglyscot

After putting my travel and tips onto my pages, I discovered there IS a page for Merowe as it is spelled in Sudan. Now I can't find where I did put them, so here we go again.
We travelled to Merowe by car which took us 4 hours including stops on the way. We used the new Bayuda Desert road. Our plan was to visit the archaeological sites of Barkal, Nuri and El Kuru, and see the new Merowe Dam which is being constructed.
Merowe is between the 5th and 6th cataracts , on the opposite side of the river Nile from Karima [VT Kuraymah], and was formerly linked by Ferry. One of the benefits of the new Merowe Dam is the network of tarmac roads, the best in all the Sudan's provinces. And the new Merowe-Karima bridge

the Nile at Merowe

Agriculture has always been the main occupation in the area- growing wheat, citrus fruits and dates, as well as peanuts/groundnuts.
The Merowe Dam will affect the area greatly, but already steps have been taken to solve potential problems. Having learned from the upheaval of the local population after the building of the Aswan High Dam, this time the inhabitants were allowed to choose where they would like to move to. It is a big move to make, leaving the land one's ancestors have lived in, been buried in for thousands of years. But this time round communities have made their choice of location.
The Chinese company building the dam have made special embankment protection to prevent erosion of the river banks once the dam is operating.

the dam under construction

Because the area has a number of archaeological sites [ see tips and Barkal, El Kuru and Nuri pages] and development will probably enable more tourists to visit the area, an International airport is being constructed, so that it will no longer be necessary to fly to Khartoum. It will also be an alternative airport when weather conditions prevent flights landing at Khartoum.

• Pros:good road network and the Merowe Dam
• Cons:a long way to go.
• In a nutshell:a pleasant quiet area with lots to see within a reasonable distance