Khartoum.
Khartoum sits over the confluence of the Blue and White Nile and is a city of over five million.
Laid out in the form of the Union Jack so it is said after the destruction wrought by the British assault under Kitchener on the city in 1898, the city was exceptionally busy on our arrival.
Very heavy road traffic brings industrial and building supplies up from Port Sudan on the Red Sea and the local habit of discarding ruined tires in their hundreds on the side of the road proved a little distracting .
Altho we arrived on voting day for the separation of Arabic North and Christian South voting was only taken in the South and Khartoum being so busy did not notice our arrival.
Separation by the South has now been confirmed, detail to be thrashed over the coming months with the possibility of local disturbances. Indeed the recent history of the area is one of humanitarian crisis and the loss of over an estimated 3.5 million lives with Khartoum itself being under siege from a Darfur rebel group in 2009

There is a useful Wiki at : http://en/wikipedia.org/wiki/khartoum
Google Earth around Khartoum is also of good quality altho much of Sudan is however not so valuable due to poor colour registration

The two rivers provide excellent opportunity for river cruising which we took to advantage. A major source of transport and communication for millennia the rivers and river banks are a photographer paradise.
One of Lord Kitcheners Gunboats, the Melik is on the shore at The Blue Nile Yacht Club. This Thorneycroft built boat is a twin screw river gunboat and the Melik Society maintains an excellent webpage at :
http://www.melik.org.uk/
We photographed the Melik on site.
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We found the city and the North, where we traveled over two thousand four hundred km settled and welcoming with a very low military presence. We were however part of an organised study Tour with or own local experienced guide and drivers . Local area security staff were expecting us and we had all the camera and visit permits organised for us in advance. Even so there were some areas such as the Merowe Dam which at the last minute we were not allowed to visit..
Khartoum will be the first of many Galleria which we hope from time to time dear viewer you will revisit.
So come with us to Sudan..