Sudan

 

Quick Facts

• Continental region – North Africa
• Currency symbol of Sudan-Sudanese pound(ج.س.)
• Capital City –Khartoum
• Official languages – Arabic and English
• Population – 41.8 million (2018)
• Country dialling code  –  (+249 )
• Official website – Sudan
• Top 3 biggest industries  –Tannery and leather production, weaving mills, spinning mills,
• Google Maps link –Sudan
• Where is it? –Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in North-East Africa. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, Libya to the northwest, Chad to the west, the Central African Republic to the southwest, South Sudan to the south, Ethiopia to the southeast, Eritrea to the east, and the Red Sea to the northeast.

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Sudan In Pictures

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Sudan History

• How did the country get its current name? – Sudan, country located in north eastern Africa. The name Sudan derives from the Arabic expression bilād al-sūdān (“land of the blacks”), by which medieval Arab geographers referred to the settled African countries that began at the southern edge of the Sahara.
• When and by whom the country was first discovered? – The land has been occupied for thousands of years, tracing back to the Stone Age. 
• Who were the first Inhabitants? – Sudan has had a continuous influx of Egyptian people and influence since at least the 4th millennium BCE. 
• When it was first recognized as a country? – The British and Egyptian governments recognized the new state 1 January 1956. 
• Who was the first leader of the country? – Ismail al-Azhari was the country’s first Prime Minister. 

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Five Significant Events 

1. War 1980s — A career army officer, al-Bashir assumes a leading role in the war against rebels in the south. (https://apnews.com/article/290aba2d7ba94493bc23111ca1b937c7)
2. Al-Bashir 1990 — Coup attempt fails to unseat al-Bashir. (https://apnews.com/article/290aba2d7ba94493bc23111ca1b937c7)
3. Sponsor of terrorism August 1993 — U.S. State Department lists Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism. (https://apnews.com/article/290aba2d7ba94493bc23111ca1b937c7)
4. Peace deal 2005 — Under international pressure, a peace deal is reached between al-Bashir and the southern Sudanese rebel group, the Sudan People’s Liberation Army. The agreement gives southern Sudanese the right to determine whether the south would remain part of Sudan. (https://apnews.com/article/290aba2d7ba94493bc23111ca1b937c7)
5. Referendum July 2011 — South Sudan gains independence after a referendum in January. South Sudan’s independence causes economic difficulties in Sudan as the new country gains control over the southern oil fields, which had accounted for three-quarters of the country’s oil production. (https://apnews.com/article/290aba2d7ba94493bc23111ca1b937c7)

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Five Places to Visit in Uganda

1. Meroe: The onetime epicentre of the ancient Napata Kingdom is a truly otherworldly place to explore. Set out between the ochre-hued rises of the Sudanese desert, just north of the capital, its comprised of over 200 individual pyramid structures, along with a whole serious of fascinating ruins of another type. (https://www.thecrazytourist.com/15-best-places-visit-sudan/5/)
2.  Suakin: Sand-blown Suakin stands tall and firm against the gusts of the Red Sea. An iconic and historic place that still touts its medieval past with pride, it was once one of the major staging points for Muslim pilgrims making the hop across to Arabian Mecca from North Africa. (https://www.thecrazytourist.com/15-best-places-visit-sudan/5/)
3. Khartoum: Khartoum is perhaps best known as the mythical location where the two great strands of the River Nile combine before heading northwards into the ancient lands of Nubia and Egypt. (https://www.thecrazytourist.com/15-best-places-visit-sudan/5/)
4.  Kerma: Another great ancient relic left on the meanders of the Nile River from the civilisations of old, Kerma promises to be an experience like no other in the country. (https://www.thecrazytourist.com/15-best-places-visit-sudan/5/)
5. Dinder National Park: The Dinder National Park is a triangle cut-out of protected land that buts right up to the Ethiopian border in the south-east of the country. (https://www.thecrazytourist.com/15-best-places-visit-sudan/5/)

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References: 

• https://www.britannica.com/place/Sudan
• http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/plaintexthistories.asp?historyid=aa86
• https://www.thecrazytourist.com/15-best-places-visit-sudan/5/
• https://apnews.com/article/290aba2d7ba94493bc23111ca1b937c7