Sudan Summer Reading
Selected Posts for Summer 2025
Ahmad Mohammad Shibrain, Oil on canvas, exhibited courtesy of Lina Haggar, Almas Art Foundation. See a review of the exhibition here: Sudan: A Visual Art Narrative.
This week’s post offers some fresh summer reading for all those interested in Sudan. If you are inspired by pre-war Khartoum scenes, then you might enjoy some of my posts published during my last visit to Khartoum in 2022, such as Khartoum in May, Khartoum Collage, and Khartoum Collage 2. You can see more memories of pre-war Khartoum in Another Khartoum, Khartoum Streets and Khartoum at Peace.
Sing, O Khartoum, Sing provides a working translation of Mahjoub Sharif’s poignant anthem to the Sudanese people and offers background to Sudan’s Poet of the People.
Atina Square, a vibrant gathering place for young and old is remembered pre-war in Atina Square Khartoum. Enduring Witness celebrates the work of artist and muralist Galal Yousif and its continuing relevance. Birds’ Wailing features Salah Elmur’s heartbreaking visual testimony to the brutality of war.
Why not enjoy a taste of Sudanese street foods like mouth-watering Sudanese drop donuts in Sudanese Zalaabiya. Alternatively, dip into the special dishes served in Ramadan in Al-Rahmataat. Foods from the Baobab explore the amazing nutritional diversity of the baobab tree and The Doum Tree’s Blessings celebrates the iconic doum palm tree and its fruit, while touching on its powerful literary, poetic and cultural resonances.
If you are interested in Sudanese art and couldn’t get to the groundbreaking London-based exhibition, Sudan: A Visual Art Narrative, then you can catch up on the works displayed in this post. Red, Gold – and Blue celebrates the work of architect and textile artist, Sondos Shuaib and her unique tribute to the Sudanese garmasis.
You might also enjoy Prayer Bead Sellers of Khartoum and Kindness to the Stranger: The Ziir.
Al-Nugulti looks at the role of the Sudanese shoe repairer in everyday life and his special place in Sudanese literture and Poet of Sudan’s Soul Mohammad Al-Mahdi Al-Majdhūb provides a brief overview of the work of one of Sudan’s best loved poets. Daughter of Light remembers the fascinating life and times of Sudanese pioneer feminist, Nafisa Ahmad Al-Amin.
Excerpt from the Peanut Seller, Mohammad Al-Mahdi al-Mujhūb, Poet of Sudan’s Soul Mohammad Al-Mahdi Al-Majdhūb.
The Gamar Boba Part 1 traces the evolving symbolism of an iconic and ancient item of jewelry. The Miswak in Sudan explores how the Sudanese version of the toothbrush rivals the toothbrushes and dental hygiene of the West. For the Beja peoples The Khulāl is much more than a comb; read about it in the link above.
Peter Everington was a teacher and advocate for peace, whose legacy endures. Beloved by his Sudanese colleagues and friends, Peter’s photographs and memories of life in early 1960s Sudan are a treasure trove for anyone who has taught or lived in Sudan. Read more in Watch your Step, Khawaja.
Below, photos from his work, Watch Your Step, Hawaja.
Happy Summer Reading 2025!
Women's literacy in Sudan 