Sudan

The flag on the left is the current Sudanese flag, while the one on the right was the original Sudanese flag adopted after independence in 1956 and used until 1970. During the recent revolution that overthrew the former dictator, Omar al-Bashir, it became a symbol of the opposition.

Just an FYI if you see anything about Sudan in the news these days: Sudanese people are not only some of the most genuinely friendly, welcoming, honest and generous people you'll ever meet, they're also just cool and personable, the kind of people you can randomly meet on a bus three years ago and still keep in touch with.

The kind of people who will pay for your tea (and bed) at a dodgy roadhouse in the middle of the night, and not only refuse to accept money for it, but also refuse to even let you buy them a tea in return in the morning, because you're a guest in their country.

The kind of people who will sell you a NY Yankees hat from a wooden cart on a dark street for the equivalent of $2, and then give you back 1/3 of the money, because you're friends now so you get the friend discount.

The kind of people you'll come across smoking shisha under a tree in the middle of nowhere on an island, who'll welcome you to their farm, chat for a bit and then point you in the direction of the confluence of the Blue and White Niles.

Anyway, hopefully you get the point. They're really good people....

NB: This video is actually just a still photo and a separate audio recording, both of which were taken from a hotel window in the centre of Khartoum a bit before 5am on 14 January 2020, the morning after another coup attempt, which led to our flight out of the country being cancelled.

The sound you hear is the pre-dawn call to prayer from a nearby mosque, which given the circumstances, we've always considered as one of the most beautiful and most heartbreaking things we've ever heard. Hopefully this is the last time there's ever a reason to share it on this page....