
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Try and guess

Thursday, July 5, 2012
Road adventures
Sudan is not the only country where you can get considerable delays while you are driving. In many countries, traffic jams are the usual start of the day. Overloaded or stranded trucks
are also quite common in the world. But some of the delay-causing 'road
adventures' here in Sudan are not very likely to be seen elsewhere.
Yesterday, Frank commenced his 5 hour journey from Kosti to Khartoum in the early afternoon. While he and his colleague were chatting the time away, the driver suddenly stopped.
Right in front of the car, in the middle of the road, stood a friendly
camel clearly enjoying a nice day dream. She didn't seem to mind or
notice the car in front of her, while she stoically stared at the
horizon. This camel really seemed to over-think some essential philosophical issues! Patience is a virtue in Sudan, so the journey only proceeded after the camel had decided to come back to reality and moved on.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Melancholic sounds
Although the local Sudanese music is in many ways very different from Dutch music, I have discovered at least one similarity. Yesterday I sat in the car and the radio was providing nice background music while we drove to the other side of town. Suddenly my two fellow passengers jumped up and turned the volume of the radio up. It didn't take long before they both started singing like they had ended up in the finals of a singing contest. I really liked the sounds of the music, but I had no idea what the lyrics of the song were about. I guessed the song was about the love for his wife or something in that direction. But one of my colleagues translated the words to me, after the song had finished: "Time flies by and life is too short. We are old before we know it." When she continued her translations I started smiling; this could have well been the text of a typical Dutch 'levenslied'! Some of the sentences were a true copy-paste from songs I have heard in Dutch. I guess this melancholic theme is a universal hit..
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Charity
Here in (North) Sudan, it's very common to see big terracotta coloured pots standing on the side of a road or a gate. These pots are called 'zeer' (pronounce like zier) and they are filled with drinking water. I was told that the pots are made of some kind of sand because of its natural functionality as a water filter. The water inside stays remarkably cool, which is no unnecessary luxury in this climate. The reason why I gave this blog the title: 'Charity', is because these pots are used as a way of caring for others by offering them water. The pots are placed outside in public places, so everyone who passes can freely drink water from these pots. Often after a family member has passed away, the remaining family members take the initiative to buy and place these pots outside, in remembrance of the person who passed away. In that sense,.. every sip of water that one drinks from these zeer pots is both a 'tribute' to the person who passed away and also a way to save the life of someone else.
Monday, July 2, 2012
Friends in the Souq
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The curtain section of Souq Al-Shabi |
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Plane spotting
Some people love to look at (aero)planes; they will do whatever they can to find exactly the right position and angle to be able to see the different planes landing and taking off. Well,..for these people Khartoum would be paradise! The international airport of Khartoum is namely located in the middle of town! (see: city map of Khartoum). So from early morning until late evening, and all time in between, you can see, hear and feel (!) the different planes arriving and departing. Last week I visited the National Council for Literacy which is located very close to one of the airstrips. During our meetings we were obliged to take a short break whenever a plane would fly over, because it would be impossible to actually hear each other. One of the participants asked me if I had ever touched the wheels of a plane. I said no and asked him why. He assured me that if I would stand on my toes on the rooftop of the building, I would be able to touch them with my hands. An interesting offer, but I think I prefer to spot them from a distance..
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