Northern Sudan: photo, climate, capital. Southern and Northern Sudan

Northern Sudan, whose photo will be presented below, is part of a country that used to be on the tenth position in the list of the largest in the world. Now he moved to 15th place. Its area is 1 886 068 km ² .

general characteristics

Northern Sudan is a state that is located in Africa. Most of it is an extensive plateau. Its average height is 460 m. The plateau crosses the Nile Valley. In the area of the merger of the Blue and White Nile is the capital of Northern Sudan. On the eastern territory along the coast of the Red Sea and the border with Ethiopia, the terrain is mountainous. Most of the country is occupied by deserts. Many travelers come to North Sudan for their sake. The climate here is arid. The temperature in summer is from 20 to 30 degrees, in winter - not lower than 15-17. Within a year there is very little precipitation here.

sights

Sudan (North) attracts tourists from all over the world. They go to visit not only the Nubian and Libyan deserts. Here you can see a lot of attractions that have been preserved since ancient Egyptian times. For example, this is the ruins of the pyramids between the Nuba desert and the river. Nile. The oldest structures were created by the rulers of the times of the Kush kingdom in the 8th century. BC. E. Having conquered part of the Egyptian territories, they also adopted their culture. It should be noted, however, that the pyramids in the Sudan are still not fully explored. This is due to the difficult political situation and difficult weather conditions. In addition to the pyramids, the landmark of the country is the sacred mountain Jebel Barkal. At its foot are the ruins of the temple of Amun, 12 more temples and 3 Nubian palaces. These monuments were attributed to the UNESCO World Heritage in 2003.

Device of the country

In 1956, the Sudan gained independence from Britain. Since then, the military regime of Islamic-oriented power has dominated national politics. In Sudan, there were two fairly long civil wars. Both began in the 20th century. The causes of conflicts were the contradictions between the southern and northern territories of the country. The first confrontation began in 1955 and ended in 1972. At that time, no one officially said that a new country would subsequently be formed - the Northern Sudan. The war broke out again in 1983. This conflict was quite fierce. As a result, more than three million citizens were forced to flee the country. In general, according to unofficial data, more than 2 million people were killed. Only in the early 2000's, peace talks were held. Southern and Northern Sudan signed agreements in 2004-2005. The final contract was approved in January 2005. In accordance with this agreement, Southern and Northern Sudan agreed on autonomy for 6 years. The treaty provided for a popular referendum to confirm independence. As a result, in 2011, in January, it was held in the southern part of the country. The majority of votes supported independence.

New conflict

It occurred in the western part of the country, in the Darfur region. As a result of this separate conflict, about 2 million people were again forced to flee the territory. In 2007, at the end of December, the UN sent peacekeepers here. They tried to stabilize the situation, which was becoming more acute. The situation took on a regional character and instigated instability in the eastern territories of Chad.

Additional problems

A large number of refugees from neighboring countries regularly arrive in North Sudan. Most of the refugees are from Chad and Ethiopia. In Sudan, the transport infrastructure is poorly developed, there is no state support for the population, and armed conflicts continue to arise from time to time. All these problems have become chronic. They substantially impede the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Northern Sudan.

The origins of conflicts

Officially, the independence of South Sudan was announced in 2011, on July 9. In early January, as was said above, a referendum was held in the country. 99% of the citizens of the southern territory voted to not depend on the policies that led the North Sudan. Khartoum did not recognize voters as an administrative center. The independence was to mark the end of the transitional period that was envisaged under the Comprehensive Peace Treaty, signed in 2005. This agreement put a point in the confrontation that lasted for 22 years. The causes of the conflict, according to analysts, lie in the colonial past of the territory. The fact is that in 1884, at the Berlin Conference, European countries established such boundaries for African states where representatives of ethnic groups that had nothing in common were mixed, and those who were close to each other, on the contrary, Were separated. Since the beginning of independence, the North Sudan is constantly in a tense state, complicated both by external conflicts with neighbors and by internal contradictions.

Dispute over resources

There is another problem that Northern Sudan is trying to solve today. Oil for the former unified country was the main resource. After the division of the country, the government lost most of its reserves. In the disputed area of Abyei, even today, there are shootings between detachments of divided territories. This conflict continues from May 2011. Northern Sudan has seized the area, its military formations are still there. In addition, before the declaration of independence on the results of the referendum, there was one more event. The northern region was occupied by the Kufra region, located in the south of Libya. Also, the military detachments took control of Jauf and the road to the center of the fields Misla and Sarir. Thus, the influence spread to the south-eastern territory of Libya, due to which the government secured a share in the oil market of this country.

Interested Power

As some experts note, Sudan's oil reserves can be compared with the resources of Saudi Arabia. In addition, there are deposits of copper, uranium and natural gas in the country. In this regard, the division of the territory is not only a contradiction between Juba and Khartoum. Significance still has a "Chinese factor", as well as rivalry between China and America in Africa. This is confirmed by some official data. So, since 1999, China has invested 15 billion dollars in the economy of the Sudan. Thus, he is the largest investor. Moreover, China financed the development of deposits in the southern territories, investing 5 billion dollars in it. However, all these investments were made before the official division of the country. Now, China will have to agree on the implementation of its projects with Juba. In this situation, it should be noted that Beijing was interested in preserving the integrity of the country, while other powers actively supported the separation.

Uganda

This country acts as the main strategic partner of the RJC in the fight against the para-Christian nationalist rebel group "Lord's Resistance Army." Together with this, Uganda is today considered the main vehicle for Western ideas in Africa. According to some analysts, the pro-American orientation of this country will soon manifest itself.

America

According to the US military, after the capital of the Northern Sudan resisted for many years, the crisis in the country can be eliminated only through intervention, since all international diplomatic means for the head of government did not bring the desired result. If we believe the collection of documents published by Elliot, the joint resolution of the African Union and the UN on the peacekeeping contingent in the province of Dafur is considered to be an intervention. In February 2006, the US Senate passed a document demanding the introduction of UN peacekeepers and NATO troops into the region. A month later, Bush Jr. called for the deployment of reinforced formations in Dafur. In addition to America, China is also interested in the province.

Northern Sudan: gold

After the division, the country, having lost a large source of income, nevertheless did not remain without raw materials. In its territory there are stocks of manganese, copper, nickel, iron ore. In addition, a significant amount of resources is gold. Mining requires the development of mining. The potential of this sector is quite high in the country. This is understood by the authorities of both territories. Intending to develop the mining business, governments are thus trying to reduce dependence on oil production. At the beginning of the year, the administration announced its upcoming plans. So, the government of Northern Sudan set a task to extract 50 tons of gold. Increased attention to this fossil is due to its priority in modern conditions in export activities. Due to gold sales, the Sudan managed to compensate to some extent losses after the country's division.

The situation today

According to unofficial data, about half a million miners are searching for and developing yellow metal deposits. The government encourages this activity, provides work even for inexperienced citizens. As representatives of the extractive industry say, the country now occupies a leading position in the list of African countries, which are of some interest for mining companies of a global scale. This is due to the insufficient knowledge of the reserves of the territory. The sanctions imposed by America, as well as endless armed conflicts have weakened the interest of extracting companies in the recent past. However, today investors again drew attention to Sudan, which contributed to the rather high cost of gold. The government of the country, in turn, issued licenses for the development of deposits to Iran, Turkey, Russia, China, Morocco and other countries.

Khartoum

This city was founded by the British in the 19th century. The capital of the northern part of Sudan is characterized by a relatively short history. At first the city acted as a military outpost. It is believed that the capital received its name because of a thin strip of land in the section of the confluence of rivers. It looks like an elephant's trunk. The development of the city took place quite quickly. Khartoum reached its prosperity during the peak of slave trade. It was in the period from 1825 to 1880. Khartoum became the capital of the country in 1834. Many European researchers viewed it as a starting point in the implementation of their expeditions to African territories. At present Khartoum is considered to be the richest and largest among Sudan's existing cities today. In addition, it is recognized as the second largest Muslim territory in this part of Africa.

Interesting places

In general, modern Khartoum is an undistinguished and quiet city. Interest here may represent his colonial center. The city remains peaceful, trees are planted along the streets. Nevertheless, in his appearance, you can still see the signs of the colonial center of the era of the British Empire. As for architecture, the Palace of the Republic and the parliament building, as well as museums (ethnographic, natural history and National repository) can be of interest to tourists. The library of the University of the capital preserved the Sudanese and African collection. The National Records Office (records) stores the main meeting of historical documentation. The National Museum presents exhibits of many civilizations and eras. In the collections there is among other things clay and glass dishes, figurines and sculptures of the ancient kingdom and Egyptian pharaohs. The frescoes of the destroyed churches, dating from the 8th to the 15th century, represent the Christian age of ancient Nubia. In the garden of the National Museum there are two churches. They were transported from Nubia and rebuilt in Khartoum. Earlier Semna and Buen temples were located on the territory flooded by Naser Lake, which, in turn, was formed after the establishment of the dam of the hydroelectric power station. These structures were originally erected during the reign of Pharaoh Thutmose the Third and Queen Hatshepsut. The ethnographic museum of the capital has a relatively small size. However, it contains interesting collections of products related to village life. In the collections, in particular, items of clothing, kitchen utensils, musical instruments, hunting tools are presented. The most attractive place is the site of the merger of the Blue and White Nile. Almost on the shore is a kind of amusement park, from where a magnificent panorama of the river opens.

Conclusion

The history of Sudan is rather complicated and consists mainly of constant conflicts and confrontations. This area is of particular value, because it has large reserves of minerals. In connection with the difficult political situation, the industrial and transport sectors are rather poorly developed here. Nevertheless, the country attracts a large number of tourists. Many foreign investors are also interested in this. The mining sector is especially attractive. Monuments of ancient epochs, some of which are protected by the world community, have been preserved on this territory.