My Sudanese friend Lubna Abdelrahman is a very enterprising lady. In the last 18 months, she has set up an organisation to help immigrant women and their families and is also busy writing articles for and promoting the new Alqalam Arabic newspaper in the Vancouver area. Her new outfit, Bitmakaly Women’s Association, hosted a community fair...

It seemed an indelicate way to arrive at a religious ceremony. We bumped in, out and around gravestones set in desert scrub, before pulling up in the minivan in front of a huge circle of men in white robes. The pounding beat got louder as we walked to the edges of the circle and saw what they were all watching: green, red and leopard-clothed...

By Alison Bate The capital of Sudan feels a little lost and empty these days. The distinctive Dinkas – the impossibly tall, thin Southerners – and their fellow compatriots have mostly left Khartoum for their new homeland and the deadline for the rest to leave is just months away. After April 9, 2012, any southerners remaining...

1. Take lots of US dollars in cash, in fact everything you’ll need, as none of your western ATMs or credit cards will be accepted. 2. Change money on the black market, not in banks or official exchanges. As of Dec.1, 2011 you’ll get about 4.2 Sudanese pounds to $1 US on the black market, compared with only about 2.75 SP to the...

I’m in a hot little internet café up some very narrow stairs, so narrow I had to squeeze sideways to get up here, helped marginally by a wobbly rail. The internet in Sudan is sometimes very good and sometimes very bad and slow. The connection keeps dropping, and I’ve just managed to switch out of Arabic and change the direction...

I ‘ve just arrived in Khartoum after a four-year gap, and this morning between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m., it was pretty magical. After a sleepless, jetlagged night, I went up to the rooftop of the Bougainvilla Guest House, where I’m staying. It was still dark, the moon and stars were out, and a cool breeze swept across the patio. Four or five...

I can pack a backpack or suitcase for a trip in under an hour, but deciding what tech toys to take is another ballgame altogether. I spent a ridiculous amount of time researching cellphones and agonizing about whether to take my beloved Macbook with me. I’m meeting various friends in Khartoum, and everyone uses cellphones there. But of...

South African-based Sophia Shuttleworth has written a well-researched and fascinating article about Sudanese perfumes on her African Aromatics website. Sophia, who describes herself as a artisan perfumer, starts out this way: “On Sunday 9 July 2011, South Sudan seceded from Sudan and became the world’s youngest country. The conflict...

“Do you dare to wear it?” – 1974 advert for Bint el Sudan perfume Mar.22, 2011 By Alison Bate It was my last day in Khartoum, the dusty desert capital of Sudan. I lay spread-eagled on my bed, trying to keep as cool as possible, and planning the day ahead. I’ll visit Omdurman Souk, I decided, follow on my grandfather’s trail. After...

Reflections as South Sudan votes 99 per cent for independence Feb.8, 2011 By Alison Bate As we headed toward Dilling, white egrets wandered in and out of scrub bushes and stubby trees. It was the rainy season and the desert land was transformed into an endless series of golf courses, with fresh green grass broken by bunkers of burnt orange...

By Alison Bate Jan.12, 2011 I’m thinking about a little girl in Sudan today. This little girl, whom I’ll call Afra, was born five years ago with a hole-in-the-heart and Down Syndrome. I first met her when she was 18 months old. I had just moved to Khartoum to teach English, and was living with a wonderful Muslim family in Mygoma, near...

I’ve had various emails from folks asking where they can buy Bint el Sudan in Canada or the U.S. As far as I know, it’s not produced here, but I’ve met a very nice Sudanese lady, Lubna Ali, who sells Sudanese products, including Bint el Sudan, here in Vancouver, Canada. I have no commercial stake in her company, but she...