Another long drive south with decidedly uninteresting desert on either side, before a local Sudanese lunch (and a good number of sheep awaiting slaughter for the major Feast of Eid al Alha - look it up on google if you are interested). Ian has brought some stickers, which were of great delight to the local children, and then via a long, very "off road" track on to the archaeological site of the royal cemetery of the old Kushite kingdom at El Kurru. The tombs are well underground down a dark flight of steps but very definitely part of the Egyptian heritage, with the usual hieroglyphs and wall paintings. The Kushites eventually became "the black pharaohs", starting the 25th dynasty).
Then on to Jebel Barkal before yet another sunset, where we camped in the lee of this massive rock. In a country with near zero tourist infrastructure, this is the number one tourist attraction as it was the centre of the Kushite world before they moved north to conquer mighty Thebes, and was the reputed home of the great god Amun. Nesting at its base is a small group of pyramids (different style to those at Giza), from some 2000 years ago.
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