Suakin, abandoned island, architecture
Sudan is the third largest country in Africa. It is a federal presidential representative democratic republic with a legal system based on Islamic law, since Islam is the predominant religion. The River Nile divides the country into eastern and western halves. Sudan was home to numerous ancient civilizations, such as the Kingdom of Kush, Kerma, Nobatia, Alodia, Makuria, Meroe and others, most of which flourished along the Nile. During the pre-dynastic period Nubia and Nagadan Upper Egypt were identical, simultaneously evolved systems of pharaonic kingship by 3300 BC. Because of its proximity to Egypt, the Sudan participated in the wider history of the Near East inasmuch as it was Christianized by the 6th century, and Islamized in the 15th. Sudan is rarely visited by foreigners; yet it offers a wealth of historical treasures and extraordinary landscapes. Not to forget its amazingly welcoming people. The harbour of Suakin is Sudan's oldest port on the Red Sea. Connected to caravan routes from the Nile and deep into West Africa, it owned its wealth to carrying both heavenly and base cargoes: pilgrims to Mecca and slaves. With the construction of Port Sudan at the beginning of the 20th century, Suakin was largely abandoned.
Size: 2787px × 4197px
Location: Suakin, Sudan
Photo credit: © François-Olivier Dommergues / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: africa, arab, british, desert, desertic, embargo, empire, harbour, islam, islamic, island, isolated, minaret, muslim, oil, people, pious, port, quran, remote, remoteness, republic, soudan, suakin, sudan, île
