The Weekend - A Visit to the National Museum

T.G.I.T. Thursday night is the start of our weekends here in Khartoum. Fridays are days for family, gathering with friends, and prayer.

We spent our first Friday (Yom al Juma'ah - day of gathering) with a new friend from the Embassy. She took us to the swanky new bakery and coffeeshop, "Ozone." This classy outdoor joint is located smack in the middle of a roundabout. Really. The grounds are shaded by a few large trees and the traffic isn't too terribly loud. The coffee and pastries are delectable, though, so we won't hesitate to return.

After breakfast we headed to the National Museum of Sudan. For about $0.50 we were invited to tromp around reconstructed pharaonic temples, peruse the ancient and still untranslated Meroitic engravings, and enjoy the rich painting and low relief carvings. We could walk right up and touch the stones if we wanted - but we restrained ourselves.

In fact, we were not the only ones who were so tempted - graffiti adorned much of the rougher and outer walls. Most astonishing were the tags in French dating from the Napoleonic era. Can't you just imagine an early 19th century French legionnaire cruising up the Nile on a break from the Battle of the Pyramids to admire and disfigure pieces of Sudanese Kushitic history?!

Other highlights included:

1. noticing the familiar Egyptian pharaonic style interningling with a freer, more fluid expression in carvings of kings (and occasionally queens) in motion (running, on tip-toe, arms up) in contrast to the stoic, frozen poses found farther down the Nile

2. the lion-headed Shesmu, God of the Underworld (not frequently present in Egyptian representations)

3. varieties of body type and haristyle demonstrating the intersecting of northern and southern ancient peoples

We saw a lot more of the city today and are beginning to glimpse the possibility of finding our own way around soon . . . but not too soon! We're taking it day by day . . .