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one world
one human race
discover
love embrace
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after about 10 days of traveling through
dry desert land
i decided i needed a change of scenery
and headed to port sudan
and i was lucky enough to get the last
real seat on the bus
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port sudan is located on the red sea
the same body of water shared by both
saudi arabia and
egypt my plan was to explore the city
and learn how to scuba dive i had no
doubt in my mind that i was just going
to be
great at it well so i wasn't successful
it was a bust my ears would not unclog
so i made the best of my day went
snorkeling and
took some selfies when planning your
trip to port sudan i suggest looking for
a hotel near the water
so you can freely walk to the pier
during the day and at night
this is where all the activity and
people watching happens
here's where everyone gathers for some
type of warm drink
a little pool and lots of shisha
i visited an all men's market and got
acquainted with the bija tribe
also known and proudly referred to as
the fuzzy wuzzies because of their
fluffy
long hair they even have their own
special cones
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not only do they have their own combs
but they also have
their own coffee
and it is the best coffee i have ever
had
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in the market i got to see a shoemaker
making some leather sandals
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and a man separating the good sorghum
grain from the bad
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and then later a woman showed me how she
turned the sorghum grain
into porridge
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[Laughter]
okay
i decided to take a trip to the bustling
fish market
where the fishermen were very nice to
show me the prize catches
i was taught how to scale fish using a
wooden board with nails in it
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and then it was my turn to have a go at
it
i don't know if i did so good
and then for some fried fresh catch of
the day and a glass bottom boat ride
i took my first shared taxi ever
i mean it's kind of like an uber pool
right
and skipped on over to sawakin which was
the old port
of sudan
i was lucky to see a major ceremony
taking place
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and went for a boat ride looking for
camels in the water which i did not find
but instead found a friendly man in the
water fishing for shrimp
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and now my final city before heading
back to khartoum
castle as soon as i got off the bus i
was invited to a family picnic
under the mango trees
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we then headed to the dry beach meaning
no water just sand
and had some bija coffee with my new
local friends
very good very very good
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i was honored to meet and be serenaded
by
the very private and isolated rashida
tribe
i was also lucky to be invited to see
some other traditional
sword dancing
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foreign
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[Applause]
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foreign
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and then inviting me for a feast fist
for a king
or queen i've never seen
anything like it in my life
now time to head back to cartoon where
i'll spend my
final days learning more about some
traditions
and getting in on a little camel action
at the market i saw men wheeling and
dealing
and even exporting camels
religion plays a huge role in sudan
and while i was here i witnessed two
types of religious
activities a group of men praying and a
sufi celebration
when visiting a muslim country such as
sudan
muslims pray five times a day which
consists of standing
bowing touching their forehead to the
ground and sitting
this is a sufi celebration called hadra
they are praising allah or god through
poetry
chanting and some swaying type of
[Applause]
dancing
i tried two ancient beauty traditions
that are just for married women and
brides to be
even though i am neither i still wanted
to give them a try
women put henna on their hands and feet
for protection against the evil eye
a way to show their affection for their
husband and to indicate that she is a
married woman
and now for the final beauty tradition
that i had been waiting for
duhan
starting one month prior to marriage and
then for the remainder of her married
life
a woman puts on a heavy cloak and sits
on a hole filled with a special burning
wood
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the smoke fills the cloak and then
cleanses and detoxifies the body
while giving the skin a smooth and
radiant color
and it is believed to tighten a woman's
most
intimate area
after i completed my treatment i was
rubbed down with dilka
which is a perfumed body exfoliant
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and for most sudanese men the lingering
smell
is said to be an aphrodisiac
after it was all over i received some
traditional chanting and some happy
dancing from the boys
i ended my one month journey and the
home of a beautiful family
with my heart filled with lots of warmth
and
loads of knowledge sudan is a gracious
and hospitable country
with some of the most generous spirited
people you will ever meet
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thank you sudan for welcoming me into
your home
mashaallah