Thursday, March 01, 2007

Khartoum, Sudan Date 11/20/2004:

Our apartment is on the third floor. It is large with three bedrooms, one bath, a kitchen, and a very large sitting area. It is almost clean, with a combination of English, French and Middle Eastern wall plugs. The best you can say about the bath is it will get you wet enough to soap and with effort you can rinse. The stove is small and the pots and pans are barely usable but I’ve managed to feed us so far. We are close to the airport and in a "nice part of town" but that is all relative. There is an ever present dust haze and traffic is unreal.

I went to the UN this morning to get my ID badge. For the return home instead of our regular driver I used one from the UN. What an adventure, “yes, yes I know the way” almost two hours later and at least six stops to ask directions we found it. The traffic is insane, it is total chaos, there are ¾ finished buildings everywhere you look, men in white robes riding tiny burros, herds of goats on many of the vacant lots, and people moving, standing, talking, and sitting on rugs under any shade they can find.

This is not a place I would vacation but if you were intent on seeing the world it would be a fascinating country to visit and I would guess a must stop if for no other reason than the mix of cultures. I'm trying to learn how to recognize the different cultures and ethnic groups but for now it is very confusing. Each has different ways of dressing so in time I will get it sorted out.

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