I Dread To Think Of The Hassle She/He Might...

Khartoum, Sudan

I dread to think of the hassle she/he might face from security police. The travel permits are restrictive - you usually have to check in to every police post when you cover distance outside Khartoum - and a walker or runner would have problems explaining what on earth they were doing, which may be a commonly encountered thing for your inquirers. The best thing might be to be as public as possible - it helps to make contacts (Arabic "wastat") who'll help clear the way of bureaucratic and security hassles. Try sports clubs, newspapers, even the culture & information ministry. Just steer as clear of politics as you can. You are likely to be regarded as a spy, especially if you have a camera or video. Be prepared with all necessary permits. Once away from urban hasslers, you'll find tremendous generosity. Accept invitations to share food, buy rounds of tea or coffee, and it pays off. I do have stories from the past - walking in the west, around Jebel Marra and from Kutum to the abandoned city at Jebel Uri on the fringe of the Libyan desert. My suggestion? Try the Nile up to 100km south and 300km north of Khartoum. Least hassle, politically. For the bold: if you can get a travel permit to Nyala/Jebel Marra in Darfur, do so by bus or plane then spend a week or more walking up and around the Jebel, which has a volcanic crater at its peak. The area has a more mediterranean climate - witness the giant fruit it produces - but security problems are growing. There's a state of emergency on West Darfur: bandits are widespread. Given enough time (allow generously for holdups) you could take advantage of the improving relations with Egypt to do the Nubian route: across Lake Nasser by boat to Wadi Halfa, then Dongola (capital of Nubia), Karima (Karima/Merowe has its own pyramids and a Pharaonic-era chamber in Jebel Baraka, the blessed mountain). Cross Hasaniya desert from Merowe to Atbara (9 hours by lorry-bus), cutting off the boring bit of the Nile. Atbara is historically centre of railways and thus gave rise to first industrial proletariat. A non-Islamist majority, then, and friendly. But watch for Islamic Front security. Walk south along Nile via Shendi to Khartoum (320km Atbara/Karthoum). Visit "Old Meroe" pyramids - far away from the previously mentioned - near Shendi, just off lorry route. It goes without saying the various Cataracts of the Nile are also worth visiting en route whenever possible.