Kushitic Pyramids of Meroë

A camel mounted Ja'alin Arab

Playing games in the best way to stay out of
the heat of the day

December in Sudan is supposedly winter but except for pleasant mornings and evenings, the days were still blazing hot. In the summer, the mercury can easily exceed 40°C so it was a good thing I was there in December but exploring the pyramids in the heat of the day even in the winter months was impracticable.

The first rays of the sun on the Pyramids

Coarse relief inside the tombs

To avoid being at the pyramids during the heat of the day I took a bus heading north from Khartoum and waited out in a town called Shendi till late afternoon and then got a bus going further north which dropped me off on the highway from where it was a further 15 minute walk on sandy trail.

The pyramids were a stunning sight and there was absolutely no hassle or crush of tourists. The amazing structures just lay there amid the encroaching sand dunes as they have obliviously been for centuries. Architecturally, these pyramids were no match to the towering ones at Giza but just the authenticity of the sight made them far superior in my eyes.

The earliest pyramids at Giza date from around 2500BC but these ones were from a time much later in antiquity; possibly from around 700 BC–AD 300. After reading about these pyramids and the civilization that built them from my guidebook, I was none the wiser. Now that I have retuned back after my travels in Sudan and subsequently read more about it I think I have a fair idea about them.

Pyramids of Meroë

To unravel the puzzle I had to start with the land of Nubia which falls between Aswan in Upper Egypt and Shendi in modern day Sudan some 200kms north of Khartoum. The Nubian people, also called Kushites, possibly derive their name from the Egyptian word “Nub” meaning gold since the yellow metal was found in abundance in their land.

Meriotic script; yet to be fully understood by
archeologists

If theorized simplistically, Nubia was home to three kingdoms during disparate ancient times. The first was the Kingdom of Kerma (2600–1500 BC). The second was the Napatan Kingdom centered around Napata (or Jebel Barkal) from 1100–300 BC and finally, the last kingdom which was centered around Meroë (300 BC–AD 300).

Map of kingdoms, states and tribes in 400 BC Africa
from Wikipedia (Author Kubek15)

Compared to the Egyptians, the Nubians were dark skinned and the Kingdom of Kerma which thrived in times before and during the old kingdoms of ancient Egypt, had their own distinct indigenous culture. The latter two civilizations (Napatan and Meroitic) were greatly influenced by Egyptian religion and culture although they fused some indigenous belief into their adopted culture. My travels further into the heart of Sudan were to take me to Kerma and Napata but I leave it for following blogs.

Waiting to catch a ride to Shendi

Ja'alin Arab

The pyramids that I was staring at that balmy evening were the royal cemeteries of the kings and queens of the Meroitic Kingdom, most of which were in ruins, had a smaller base and were tall, narrow structures inclined steeply compared to the Egyptian ones. Inside them were bas reliefs of Egyptian and Meroitic gods which were severely weather-beaten by the pounding they have taken through the ages of the abrasive combination of sand and wind.

One of my best memories of Sudan was pitching my tent on a sand dune meters from the pyramids. If I wanted reasons for justifying a visit to this seldom visited country that was definitely one. Where else in the world would I be able to camp so close to an ancient archeological site with not a sole in sight and just the howling winds to accompany me through the night.

Ja'alin Arab woman with a T
shaped facial scar



Temple of Amun at Naqa


The view of the pyramids at sunrise was even better as the limestone structures were bathed in soft golden-red hue. Once the sun came out entirely, it got hot pretty quickly so I packed up and got back on the highway to hitchhike back to Shendi. Soon I got a lift from a truck driver who was hauling cargo from Port Sudan to Khartoum. He had been driving the whole night and wanted to rest a few hours so he dropped me off at a place where he reckoned I would easily get a ride back to Shendi.


Colonnade of rams at Naqa

Roman kiosk

Waiting along with me at the stop were a bunch of Ja'alin (or Ja'aliyyin) Arabs in their white jallabiya. Sudan is ethically very diverse with 40 different tribes and the Ja'alin are historically semi-nomad agriculturalists living in the plains north of Khartoum; the president of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir was born in Shendi and is of the Ja'alin tribe.

Waiting idly for a vehicle to pick us up was boring so we got into a competition of throwing pebbles at a target. Not surprisingly, I was miserable inducing a few chuckles for my poor skills but at least it was a good way to pass time.

Lion headed god Apedemak; the
reliefs are significantly chumkier
than the Egyptian ones

Over an hour later, we got a lift from a truck built for carrying cattle but thankfully we were the only ones in there. As soon as we approached a checkpoint we would go silent which suggested that the common Sudanese man also suffers (and dislikes) the bureaucracy and excessive military presence around the country.

Apedemak with the a lion head
and body of a snake

Wide hipped Queen Amanitore hinting
distinct African features of Kushites

Back in Shendi they wished me well and I checked in to a store to buy water. The owner of the place was very welcoming and showed me around town, helped me get a good hotel for the night and also arranged a taxi that would take me to the Meroitic temples at Naqa and Musawwarat es Sufra later that afternoon.

Lion temple at Naqa

Apedemak as a triple headed god flanked
by the King (L) and Queen (R)

The driver was sure it wouldn’t take more than 30 minutes to get there but as soon as we veered away from the highway his confidence seemed to crumble. Turned out that he had no idea where the temples were and we had to stop at a nomad’s shelter and ask him to show us the way by riding with us. Instead of 30 minutes, it took us close to an hour and half to get there. Moreover, the taxi was a compact car with 2WD and totally ill-suited for the sandy piste we were on. I was pretty sure we were destined to get stuck that night because there were no other vehicles on that isolated route. That being said, he was the best 2WD driver I have seen as he expertly negotiated the sandy terrain where even a less experienced 4WD driver could have fumbled.

Relief depicting the king and queen with their gods

The site of Naqa, built around the 1st century AD, actually consisted of two different temples; the first one was the temple of Amun at the foot a rocky outcrop with a colonnade of rams that was similar to the Temple at Karnak in Egypt.

The second and more interesting temple was the Lion Temple dedicated to the Meroitic god Apedemak. The site of Naqa is thought to be an ancient ruined city of the Kushitic Kingdom of Meroë but somewhat inexplicably was located seemingly in the middle of nowhere almost 50kms east of the Nile. All the architectural wonders of Egypt were located along the Nile which made sense but this made Naqa more atmospheric and amazing to wander in.

Lion between the feet of Kushitic King Natakamani
mauling an enemy

An underground well system at a wadi nearby

Fading light and the prospect of driving back on sandy piste with a 2WD were enough to give up on Musawwarat es Sufra and head straight back to Shendi.

Back in Shendi, I met a Bangladeshi working at a local restaurant who had an amazing story of having worked in Jordan but after being expelled from there he gradually made his way to Sudan to earn money. Sudan is by no ways a wealthy country but it showed the sign of desperation and perseverance among the Bangladeshi.