My day trip really started the day before when my taxi driver for the Khartoum City tour got talking to commander of the guards at Khalifa House Museum. Hellos were exchanged and the uniformed chap introduced himself as Hammed and without much ado declared that he would join me the following day. Sure, i said and told him to be at the Guesthouse at 7 am the following morning - not thinking he would show up. Was I wrong or what. With an hours delay we set of for a 2 hour drive to Naqa in an Toyota pickup truck. Salim the driver is from Dhafur and played some really good tapes with Dhafur music. Salim has three wives and eight children and is currently dating a lady he wants to take as wife no. 4. Mohammed only has two wives and seven children but shows a deeper understanding of the world describing German women as "difficult" and the English as "operating in the dark". I could not have possibly disagreed with a Sudan police commander so I had no choice but to nod with my head.
After some initial nervous overtaking Salim got into the swing of things weaving in and out of traffic passing burned out lorries and misc. roadkill heading out of Khartoum. I now learned that Mohammed had been working as a policeman at the Naqa and Meroe sites for many years and that he knows everybody there and would be me special guide. Again he was right on all counts. Whenever we passed Nomads we would stop and there would be a lengthy meeting and greeting going on. Surprising how many Nomads there are out there and be sure Mohammed knows them all - big and small. Arriving at the Meroitic temples at Naqa where a German team was working on reconstructing the Roman Kiosk next to the Amun Temple and Lion Temple - same story. I could not have asked for a better guide with great patience I was told about Kings and Queens, Sudanese empires of the past, and all the different gods they had.
Borgi and team are expected here on Saturday and the plan is to head for the Ethiopian border first thing on Sunday. LH still have not delivered the oil filter........
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