Khartoum

Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, is evidence of the rich culture and long legacy of North Africa. For many years, this city—which lies at the meeting point of the White and Blue Nile rivers—has been a major political, economic, and social actor in the region. Khartoum has developed into a vibrant city combining modernism with old customs thanks to its strategic location and varied population.

The Arabic word meaning “elephant’s trunk,” which aptly describes the form of the ground where the two Nile rivers converge, forms the name for the city, Khartoum. Known under several names, including al-Mogran and al-Muqran, this geographical feature has been crucial in the development of the city from its inception. The three separate sections of the Khartoum metropolitan area—the capital city, Khartoum North (al-Kharṭūm Baḥrī), and Omdurman—are joined across the great Nile by bridges.

Khartoum originated in Egypt when its ruler Muhammad Ali Pasha established a military outpost north of Soba in 1821. Now the largest metropolitan area in Sudan, over 6 million people call this strategically important site home. The development and expansion of the city has been shaped by a complex web of colonizing, independence movements, and internal strife.

Between Egypt and the British Empire and Khartoum in the nineteenth century, there was plenty of political wrangle. The British indirectly affected Sudanese leadership with their 1882 conquest of Egypt. But Khartoum’s history entered a storm when the Mahdist War started in 1884. The Mahdist conquest of Khartoum and consequent murder of the defending Anglo-Egyptian garrison constituted a watershed event in this war. This occasion changed the collective memory of the people and highlighted the strategic relevance of the city in the area.

With the British takeover of Khartoum in 1898, a fresh age of colonial control started. Over its almost sixty years as the administrative and metropolitan center of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, the city changed greatly. Sudan experienced structural change, Western-style architecture was introduced, and educational institutions that would later form the cornerstone of Sudan’s intellectual life was founded during this time.

When Sudan gained its independence and the city was formally named capital in 1956, Khartoum underwent a watershed event in its history. With Khartoum’s ascent to prominence as the political and cultural epicenter of the country, a new chapter of possibility and difficulty started. Because of its function as capital, the city has become a focal point for both development and strife since attaining freedom.

Following independence, Khartoum has had both calm times and turbulent ones. Following an attack on the Saudi Embassy that sadly claimed three hostages and exposed the complex geopolitical dynamics under development in the region, the city attracted international interest in 1973. Recent times have seen great unrest in the city, including the 2019 Sudanese Revolution massacre in Khartoum and the 2008 Justice and Equality Movement clashes with the Sudanese Armed Forces in Darfur.

Key North African commercial and trade center Khartoum has survived these challenges. The city’s strategic location as a commercial and industrial center as well as several rail lines—including those linking Port Sudan and El-Obeid—have helped to explain its growth to prominence. Though Khartoum International Airport is a major hub for international trade and travel, the city’s rapid urbanization has hampered ideas to create a new airport on the southern margins.

Khartoum’s cultural scene is rich and varied, much as its past. Numerous national and cultural organizations in the city draw attention to Sudan’s artistic and historical legacy. Comprising thousands of years, both the Khalifa House Museum and the National Museum of Sudan boasts amazing collections of objects from Sudanese history. Important in shaping the leaders of the Sudanese people, universities including Sudan University of Science and Technology and the University of Khartoum add to the intellectual life of the city.