#Glimpses sudans pyramids series#

I was drawn to a nation that had managed to break free from dictatorship through the strength, creativity and determination of its people. I traveled to Sudan in February and March 2020, just a few days before pandemic lockdowns broke out in my home country, Italy.

#Glimpses sudans pyramids series#

Located on the seashore of the Nile, about 150 miles by car northeast of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, the Meroe Pyramids – around 200 in total, many of them in ruins – appeared to be in perfect harmony with the surrounding landscape, as if the wind had it their edges smoothed to accommodate them between the dunes.ĭuring the 30-year dictatorship of Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who led Sudan through a long series of wars and famines, the pyramids of Meroe saw few international visitors and remained relatively unknown.Īmong the many aftermaths of the revolution that led to the overthrow of Mr al-Bashir in 2019 – along with the removal of Sudan from the list of state sponsors of terrorism in the US in 2020 – was the hope that the country’s archaeological sites would be preserved could provide wider attention and protection, not only from researchers and international visitors, but also from Sudanese citizens themselves. In the midday heat, the bright glow of the desert helped draw my attention to the pyramids themselves. Some locals were cleaning up after the recent restoration work, and young cameleers were looking for customers.