organize tour group with local doing guided tour to el kurru tomb. northern sudan

more of el kurru

throughout nile valley history nubians or cushites in both sudan and egypt played a very dominant role as priest in various temples in both countries. so it would not be surprising to have this same group of people spreading their religious concepts to other areas of the world. this roman fresco depicts the cultural exchanges that took place, it shows nubian priest leading the service of the isis temple in rome. the priest is depicted wearing a white tunic, it is quite obvious that they are indeed nubian. however, among the most devoted followers of the cult at that time was roman emperior Nero and Caligula.

this is the temple of philae or Isis located in egypt today. this area was actually the first nome in ancient egypt and it is also the border of ancient nubia. however this area have shifted direction north and south throughout nile valley history. it is interesting even today the 3 million or more inhabitants in the aswan governate which includes edfu, kom ombo, esna is nearly predominately cushite extraction. that includes the nubians arabize and not arabize, beja groups, ababda, and mix saidee with the groups just mentioned. so, isis is originally a nubian or cushites deity, hence the location of the main cult center which is located in nubia today. however, the foundation of the complex was builted by the nubian pharaoh taharqa, and it was later expanded by Ptolemaic, Roman, Meroites. A modern visitor will notice many meroitic writing in the temple, and even today the ancient meroitic or nubian writing is not decipher yet.

philae at night. if you visit the temple of philae they actually have night shows, in many different languages. the show last about 1 hour more or less. i hope when sudan develop tourism for it temples or ruins, we will have light shows such as these.

el kurru tomb. this photo looks very good in black in white of the local gatekeeper of the tomb.

wooden stool, ghana they date it 18th or 19th century.

this was a temple but later converted into a church during christian period, but elements of the old pagan temple have been found. so they are escavated to further find out what god this temple was dedicated to. northern sudan

this was a temple but later converted into a church during christian period, but elements of the old pagan temple have been found. so they are escavated to further find out what god this temple was dedicated to. northern sudan

prince Horemakhet son of pharaoh shabaka and high priest of amun. dated statue from 701-690 BC.

boy relaxing inside the musawarrat es sufra complex, photo taken by tourist maybe boy was posing for them. i don't know, however this complex is absolutely huge. as we speak now, part of the complex is being restored by germans with the help of UAE money.

boy relaxing inside the musawarrat es sufra complex, photo taken by tourist maybe boy was posing for them. i don't know, however this complex is absolutely huge. as we speak now, part of the complex is being restored by germans with the help of UAE money. this is in north sudan not egypt.

this is a rebuilted mock up temple from northern sudan probably semna temple but now moved to the khartoum national museum due to the aswan dam project in egypt back in the 60's

this Ba head statue is dated during the meroitic period in northern sudan around 2nd century AD. some people observe the similarity the ba statues in sudan with that of west african art particularly nigeria. some may wonder where did this ideas flow from east to west or west to east. other speculated mainly africanist that some west african groups actually migranted from the nile valley to present day west african.

benin ivory mask dated around the 16th centuy. the mask is the oba(king) of benin, i think?

lion temple is dedicated to the ancient nubian lion god apedemak, it is within the "musawarrat es sufra complex". this is just one of the many temple in the complex. this is northern sudan not egypt.

again this is the complex of musawaratt es sufra, however, many scholars are trying to speculate what the complex was use for. some scholars have speculated that it was probably use for train elephants, due to the elephant statuary in certain areas of the complex, others say it is possible it is a religious pilgrimage due to the the many temples and rooms in the complex, however, recently some scholars have speculated it may be a university, if that is the case, it would be one of the first on the african continent. however until the meroitic language is deciphered, we won't know the purpose of this stucture. .needless to say, as of now, i hear restorage is taking place of the complex. maybe in a few years once the dust is settled this will be another karnak like egypt, which attracts millions of tourist every year. hopefully we have a light show.

the carving on the wall is king Arekhamani, the nile god Horus and the king wife. this is dated 235-218BC

behold the pyramids field in igboland.

queen qalhata burried in the tomb of el kurru in northern sudan. dated 7th century BC.

These paintings show very strong Byzantine characteristics, and are further evidence of the deeply rooted influence which the Byzantine church must originally have had in Nubia. The illustration shown he (FIG. 4) from the church at Faras is of a bishop, almost certainly the bishop of Faras, who may well have been the senior bishop of the Nubian church. He is shown in full vestments, which are very similar to those then in use in the Orthodox Church. An unusual feature is the series of what are apparently bells sewn round the hem of his cope


Bishop Petros dated (924-999) with St Peter the apostle this is now housed in warsaw poland.

if you want to learn more about the history of nubia christian period, here is the link. i hope you enjoy it.

http://rumkatkilise.org/nubia.htm

Painting of Nubian Queen with the Virgin and Child In an early 12th century painting, the Virgin and Child stand with Queen Martha of Nubia, holding a crucifix, and an unnamed martyr. The painting was uncovered on the north wall of the Christian Basilica founded probably in the late seventh or early eighth century at Faras, formerly the capitol of the northern Nubian kingdom of Nobatia. The area was later flooded by the waters of Lake Nasser. Photographed at Faras, Sudan, 1963.

inside a temple in the complex of musawarrat es sufra.

One of the eight soapstone bird sculptures found at Great Zimbabwe. Photo courtesy of Great Zimbabwe National Monument.

great zimbabue

Royal Crown, Found in Ballana, Nubia, 3rd-4th Century
this is during the tradition from the meroitic period to the christian period
notice that the crown still retain ancient religious iconic symbols, and this was during the christian period.

at the center of the christian crown, you will notice a ram. the anicent nubians and egyptians represented the ram as the nile god amun.

@Poster, Once again thanks for this wonderful thread.

sudan is one of the most diverse countries on the african continent. the diversity is something to behold and it is mindboggling. here is some of the most common faces you as a visitor will see in sudan.

more of the country diversity

these people come from different areas in the sudan but you will see them well represented in the cities.