African Experience

Monday, 28 December 2015

Sudan

Our trip of discovery this year took us to Sudan. The name "Sudan" originally comes from the term "Bilal-al-Sudan" which means "Land of Blacks".

We had the privilege of seeing many of the ruins of the ancient Kingdom of Kush, including the Pyramids of the Kingdom's ancient capital, Meroe, and others in Nubia. The Kingdom of Kush dates back to 2,500 BC and lasted until around 600 AD. The Kushite Pharoah, Piankhi, united the entire Nile Valley from the Delta (in modern-day Egypt) to the city of Napata (in modern-day Sudan). There are more Pyramids in Sudan than there are in Egypt.

Day 1 - Khartoum (the capital city) and Omdurman

National Museum - a wealth of information

Pharaohs at the side of the museum

Archaelogical map of Sudan

Funerary shaft of Anlamani.

This shaft is carved in granite and engraved with with reliefs and texts contained the coffin of Napatan king Anlamani. It is one of the first successors of the Blacks Pharaohs, most likely the grandson of Taharqo and predecessor of Aspelta. During the excavationof Nuri by American archaeologist George Reisner in 1914-1916, in the funerary chambers were discovered under their respective pyramids the shafts, very similar to this one of the two rulers Anlamani and Aspelta.

The “Venus” of Meroe

Side view

Nubian Man

The Blue Nile & the White Nile - confluence (not so clear from pics)

Friday, 12 June 2015

Ethiopia

Ethiopia holds a special place in the hearts of many Jamaicans including me. So when I had to visit Ethiopia, to help my husband on a work mission recently, a burst of excitement and anticipation consumed me as finally I could now see this place!

Among the places we visited were Shashamane - home to over 200 Rastafarians of Jamaican roots; Aksum - where we saw the ruins of the ancient city of Aksum which was once the heart of ancient Ethiopia, when the Kingdom of Aksum was the most powerful state between the Eastern Roman Empire and Persia.

Here are a few pics

Touring the school built and run by the Jamaica Rastafarian Development Community (JRDC).

Another school run by Sister Angie

Temple of Priest Paul

Mission accomplished!

Grabbing a bite!

This is Ethiopian goatmeat with Injera

Aksum
Brief Overview (Taken from Unesco's site - http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/15)

Situated in the highlands of northern Ethiopia, Aksum symbolizes the wealth and importance of the civilization of the ancient Aksumite kingdom, which lasted from the 1st to the 8th centuries AD. The kingdom was at the crossroads of the three continents: Africa, Arabia and the Greco-Roman World, and was the most powerful state between the Eastern Roman Empire and Persia. In command of the ivory trade with Sudan, its fleets controlled the Red Sea trade through the port of Adulis and the inland routes of north eastern Africa.
The ruins of the ancient Aksumite Civilization covered a wide area in the Tigray Plateau. The most impressive monuments are the monolithic obelisks, royal tombs and the palace ruins dating to the 6th and 7th centuries AD.