Royal cemetery of Begrawiya, Day 298

A visit to the ancient royal cemetery of Begrawiya (a.k.a Meroe) some 200 km north-east of Khartoum represents the fourth and final day of our program. The car hire has certainly been useful for getting around, but it ain’t cheap so we’re trying to maximize our activities. Abdul, our driver, meets us at 8 am and off we go – straight into rush hour traffic. Yes even in Khartoum. And conditions don’t improve after we extricate ourselves from the city as large overladen trucks drive at suicidal pace on the road north. It doesn’t help that the sky overhead remains dull and dark, the remnants of last night’s haboub (sand storm).

We arrive at the funerary complex of Begrawiya on time at 11 am to be greeted by a few eager and anxious souvenir sellers and three UN peacekeeper vehicles. Apparently this group is on a weekend break from monitoring the peace process in southern Sudan. Fortunately they are just leaving and we therefore have the place to ourselves. The one thing you can almost guarantee in Sudan is that you’re unlikely to bump into other travelers; it’s like being in Egypt without the hordes of tourists. Of course this does mean that the souvenir sellers will absolutely target you, but these guys are much less aggressive than their compatriots in Egypt. Their main sales tactic is desperation, which I don’t think is an act sadly. We’re not really souvenir people, but Christi’s eye can always be turned by a shiny piece of jewelry and she succumbs to a brass bracelet for 55SP (about US$22). With the fall of the 25th (Nubian) dynasty of Ancient Egypt, the rulers retreated from Upper Egypt to their spiritual home at Napata (present day Karima and Nuri). The Nubian dynasty evolved into the Kingdom of Kush, which flourished in Napata and Meroe until the 4th century AD.

There are two main groupings of pyramids at Begrawiya, which number over 200 in total. The northern grouping is actually younger than those to the south. The southern cemetery dates to the 8th century BC, coinciding with the transfer of power from Napata to Meroe. Around 300 BC, burials switched from the southern the northern grouping. Kings and queens continued to be buried here until the fall of the Kushite Empire in the 4th century AD. Since Christi and I have a limited attention span for Egyptology (even if it is Egyptology in Sudan), we focus on the heavily restored northern grouping of pyramids. Many of these pyramids were decapitated in 1834 by an Italian doctor turned treasure hunter called Giuseppe Ferlini. This desecration yielded minimal treasure and what there was now resides in museums in Germany. These days the pyramids are in danger of being lost under the folds of giant apricot-colored sand dunes. The pyramids of Begrawiya are much smaller than their Egyptian counterparts (less than 30m tall) and built at a much steeper angle (70^o) which eased construction. Many of the pyramids have been restored which at least helps visualize what they must have looked lied 2,000 years ago even if does detract from the areas authenticity. Having said that the ante-chambers of the tombs contain some well-preserved hieroglyphics and reliefs.

Despite the oppressive heat, it was fun to explore in complete isolation. Two cameleers hover around, hoping to be hired to take us the southern grouping but we have quickly become templed out and decline their offer of a ride. Instead I pay them a few pounds to race their camels for the camera before we return to the sumptuous air-conditioning of our Toyota Land Cruiser. After a late lunch in the uninspiring town of Shendi, we truly go off-piste (thank goodness for 4WD) to reach our final archaeological site on our Year of Wonder, the Meroitic temples of Naqa. And this place truly is in the middle of nowhere. I can’t believe it gets many visitors, yet a Sudanese official is on site and eager to charge us the entry fee (20 SP per person).

We visit three main temples. First, the Kiosk which is notable for having both Roman and Egyptian architectural influences. Second, the Lion Temple, which is dedicated to the lion-headed Kushite god, Apedemak. The reliefs and hieroglyphs here are simple stunning. And third, the Temple of Amun, which follows a more traditional Egyptian floor plan: an avenue of rams leading to an outer courtyard, hypostyle hall, and inner sanctuary. It’s all great stuff, but we’re equally excited when Abdul returns us to our air-conditioned room at the Gobbaa hotel, after an 11 hour day of touring and traveling. Tomorrow we explore alone.