Small pyramids in Sudan - Archaeological Sites of the Island of Meroe 1336; Date palm, knowledge, skills, traditions and practices 01509
What and Why
I am extremely proud that as a Chinese I actually took a Sudanese to his own heritage treasure of Meroë (Arabic: مرواه), during my recent diplomatic work. No joke, the Sudanese actually did not know about Meroë until I took him there and he was truly amazed and proud of what he saw from his own country.
Meroë was the wealthy and prosperous capital of Kush (Egyptian: K3š). The name is probably related to the biblical character Cush (Hebrew: כוש, Kush) in Genesis. Meroë was also mentioned in Exodus, referred to as Saba. However there seems no direct meaning of the name itself.
The importance of the town gradually increased during the 3rd century BCE and Greek historian Herodotus (Greek: Ἡρόδοτος) described it as 'a great city...said to be the mother city of the other Ethiopians' in the 5th century BCE. Meroë was located along the middle Nile (النيل, Al-Nīl) where the watershed and the connexion to many major rivers aided the local clay and iron industry and prospered the city.
These two sites: pyramids and citadel comprise the best preserved relics of the kingdom of Kush, encompassing a wide range of architectural forms, including pyramids, temples, palaces, and industrial areas that shaped the political, religious, social, artistic and technological scene of the area since the 8th century BCE.
Toponymy
The town was given the name Meroë by the Persian king, Cambyses (Old Persian: 𐎣𐎲𐎢𐎪𐎡𐎹, Kabūjiya), in honour of his sister who was called by that name.
See
Nubian pyramids (الأهرامات النوبية)
Nubian pyramids (الأهرامات النوبية, Al'ahramat Alnuwbia) are pyramids that were built by the rulers of the Kush kingdoms. This area of the Nile valley is known as Nubia (نوبه), and was home to three Kushite kingdoms during antiquity. The last kingdom was centred on Meroë (3rd century BCE – 3rd century CE). These constructions are built of granite and sandstone. The physical proportions of Nubian pyramids differ markedly from the Egyptian counterparts: they are small, isosceles, slender structures inclined at approximately 70° and typically stands at around 6 to 10 m. Most have offering temple structures abutting their base with a unique H-shaped doorway. By comparison, Egyptian pyramids of similar height generally had foundation that were much larger and were inclined at less steep angles.
In front of the bigger pyramids there usually lies an H-shaped doorway which connects to a chapel, where one does the worship and is probably the main tomb. As expected the artefacts have all been removed and the chapel is presently a small niche.
The area of the pyramid clusters is huge and to explore most of it, it is best done by a camel-ride, which is only SDG 50 ج.س (Sudanese pound). By the way, the site is located in a real desert and walking on sand is not the easiest exploration, especially under the scorching sun. The photograph below shows my Sudanese friend on a camel exploring his own country's heritage.
Meroitic Palace and Royal City (القصر المروى والمدينة الملكية)
A few kilometres away from the pyramid clusters one will find the Meroitic Palace and Royal City (القصر المروى والمدينة الملكية). The size and the construction does suggest it must have been a great, prosperous royal city.
The ruined columns and city structure do suggest that this was once a massive, developed and prosperous city.
Eat and Drink
Cow-trotter soup (كوارع)
Sudanese cuisine features lots of stew and soups of either cow or lamb. Many of these soups and stews are made by animal fat and onions and there is not a lot of Arabic influence in the diet. The other staple is roast lamb meat. We had an excellent dinner in an institutional crowded food stall Al Mona Lisa (الموناليزا) in Khartoum (ٱلْخُرْطُوم) where these cow-trotter soup (كوارع, kaware') is served. The crowd there is massive!
Sudan was (past tense) one of the few Muslim countries that allowed the consumption of alcohol. Although it is now banned under Sharia (شريعة) law, there are still visible traces of sales of alcohol here and there, apparently brewed by local aboriginal tribes.
Palm date (نخلة التمر)
It needs no introduction that an Arabic country like Sudan would consume palm date (نخلة التمر), this is now a UNESCO ICH as blogged in Aït Ben Haddou (ⴰⵢⵜ ⴱⴻⵏⵃⴰⴷⴷⵓ).
Stay
I stayed in the Grand Holiday Villa Khartoum (جراند هوليدي فيلا الخرطوم) and while the hotel is nothing to be proud of, it is quite incredible and refreshing go know that there is a Malaysian chain-hotel in the middle of Sudan.
Getting There and Around
Meroë is around 200 km north of Khartoum, but the road is quite horrible that it takes around three hours to reach Meroë from the capital by car. It is even more surprising to know that this trunk road is the main road that connects the capital Khartoum with the seaport, and really wonders how transportation or trade is managed in the country.
Entry fee to the site is 50 ج.س which is just about USD $1, but the guy guarding the gate will ask you to pay more. The camel ride is also 50 ج.س.
UNESCO Inscriptions
The Archaeological Sites of the Island of Meroe, a semi-desert landscape between the Nile and Atbara rivers, was the heartland of the Kingdom of Kush, a major power from the 8th century B.C. to the 4th century A.D. The property consists of the royal city of the Kushite kings at Meroe, near the River Nile, the nearby religious site of Naqa and Musawwarat es Sufra. It was the seat of the rulers who occupied Egypt for close to a century and features, among other vestiges, pyramids, temples and domestic buildings as well as major installations connected to water management. Their vast empire extended from the Mediterranean to the heart of Africa, and the property testifies to the exchange between the art, architectures, religions and languages of both regions.
The date palm has been connected to the regional population of the submitting States for centuries, serving both as the source of numerous associated crafts, professions and social and cultural traditions, customs and practices, and as a key form of nutrition. The date palm is an evergreen plant typically associated with dry climates, where the roots of the plant penetrate deeply into the earth in search of humidity. Bearers and practitioners include date palm farm owners, farmers who plant, nurture and irrigate the date palm offshoots, craftspeople who produce traditional products using various parts of the palm tree, date traders, creative individuals and performers of associated folkloric tales and poems. The Date palm, knowledge, skills, traditions and practices have played a pivotal role in strengthening the connection between people and the land in the Arab region, helping them face the challenges of the harsh desert environment. This historic relationship in the region and the element has produced a rich cultural heritage of related practices between people in the region, knowledge and skills maintained to this day. The cultural relevance and proliferation of the element over the centuries prove how committed the local communities are to sustaining it; this is achieved through collective participation in multiple date-palm related activities and numerous festive rituals, traditions and customs.
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