This weekend a group of us went to the Pyramids of Meroe and the Temples of Naga. The drive is 3 hours north of Khartoum and takes you through some beautiful country. First I'll detail the trip and then the pictures.
We left on Saturday a.m. We had five cars--between 25 and 30 people. The drive took longer than usual--mostly because of concerns about fuel consumption and a flat tire. But we made it. The first stop was the Pyramids of Meroe. After visiting that site for about one and a half to two hours, and a little camel ride (just for the tourists!), we headed to our camp site. Several of us were staying in an Italian run permanent site while others chose to camp out without the amenities. The only problem on day one was the heat. At the pyramids, it must have been between 115 and 120. Brutal. Though there was a bit of a breeze.
Sunday we went to the Ancient City of Meroe--not nearly as visually impressive but with some interesting buildings, and then heading back towards Kharotum and a stop at the Temples of Naga (or Nagaa). The temples were amazing but may soon be covered in water due to the planned construction of a dam. We're vague on the details but if it happens, it will be a loss.
In today's blog I'll cover the pyramids of Meroe. Tomorrow I'll post some photos and info about the Temples of Naga.
It's hot so you grab what shade you can.
I'm learning to ride my camel...much to the delight of my camel's owner's--Suliman.
The Italian camp
The view from my tent--the pyramids are in the background there.
The pyramids are beautiful...both from the ground, and if you climb to the top!
Taking a rest from our walk around, Tiare, Andrea and I rest at the base of one of the pyramids.
We drew a bit of a crowd and the lesser visited of the two pyramid sites.
A bit about the pyramids:
Meroe is the old Kushite capital and the pyramids of Meroe--the cemetery--dates back to approx. the 8th century BC. Kings and queens were buried here until the fall of the Kushite rule in the 4th century AD. Kushite culture was heavily influenced by Egypt due to centuries of interaction and the main gods of Egypt are represented in the Kushite pantheon.
The pyramids, while similar to those in Egypt are much smaller. If the largest was still intact, it would be almost 30m high. Though there used to be 160 pyramids, now there are about 30. Most have had the tops cut off by an Italian treasure hunter in 1834.
1 comment:
I can't believe how hot it is there! I read about the triatholan - are you crazy? :)
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