|
Event Details |
|
|
|
|
Sukur
is
This
4-day expedition departed
The
climb up to Sukur is paved with stone steps, but it is steep and takes 90
minutes or more. Members of the expedition should therefore be fairly fit. You
will be far from
It
was US Thanksgiving day, the day Americans celebrate the winter survival of the
first colony in
There
were 9 of us, including the driver: our
excellent organizers Salma (
We
were so very sorry that Petra, Barbara, and Baerbel who pretty well made all
the arrangements for us and who provided us with all the information we needed
and who so kindly introduced us to the wonderful Gisela, were not able to join
us mostly for reasons of lacking space in a vehicle – next time hire a car!
Meeting
time was (oh god!) 6:45am at S&J’s house where coffee, tea, and other
goodies were awaiting us. We got off to
a good start and were on our way by 7:15.
We made good time, included the all-important roadside breaks, and had
our fabulous Thanksgiving lunch almost half-way to
Without
any hitches we made it to
Friday
morning, of course Salma was already up and had coffee for us! We checked out of the hotel and drove along
the base of the
Our Visit to Dikwa
On Friday morning we drove out
of
We didn’t know what to expect
which made it hard to work out if we’d found it! ‘It’ was a two-storey mud blockhouse with a
flat roof – all that remained of the fort built by the nineteenth century
Sudanese hero, Rabih, after he carved out a kingdom for himself on this fertile
area in the hinterland of Lake Chad. Next to the fort was a simple 3-room
museum, whose curator was a wisened old woman called Gurah - who probably dated
back to Ribih’s time!
We sat on stools in one room,
surrounded by ancient photographs of horsemen, military equipment and maps of
military complexes. Ya-Gurah recounted (through two translations) a cocktail of
history and mythology about the place where we were sitting. One tale explained
how Rabih hid himself underwater for two years before he surfaced to slay a
band of marauders – only then to have his head cut off.
Local kids flocked to the doors
and windows to stare at us, but were scared off by a rough gesture from
Ya-Gurah. Several men, including one in a smart uniform, arrived to carve out
fees for photos, fees for showing around the dusty fort, fees for anything
really. We didn’t learn much from Ya-Gurah and less from the men. But the
photos and their peeling inscriptions indicated that this fly-blown
end-of-the-earth town had once been the capital of a mighty empire. The
colonial powers sat in
Background History (from
Encyclopaedia Britannica):
Dikwa
The town lies near the
In 1893, after the Sudanese
warrior Rābi az-Zubayr conquered almost all of
Although administered by
Most of the area's population
is engaged in herding (especially cattle) and in farming (chiefly cotton,
groundnuts, millet, sorghum, maize, and indigo). Fishing is important, both
along the shores of
Dikwa town has a government
health office and a dispensary; but Bama, besides being the seat of the
emirate, is larger, has more medical and educational facilities, and is a trade
centre. Pop. (latest est.) town, 10,860.
Rabih - in full
Rābi was enslaved as a
child and later enrolled in the military service of az-Zubayr Pasha, a Sudanese
prince. Rābi was loyal and capable, and he rose to a position of command.
When in 1878 az-Zubayr rebelled against the Egyptian administration of the
Rābi developed a solid
basis of military power. By raiding villages and tribes, his bands secured much
booty. He increased his ranks by offering prisoners their lives and their
freedom if they would join him. By the early 1890s he had built a force of some
5,000 men, acquired 44 pieces of light field artillery, and considered himself
ready to expand his operations. In 1893 Rābi occupied the district of
Bornu, west of
Rābi was unable to
pursue his ambitions further because
Kanem-Bornu - African trading
empire ruled by the Sef (Sayf) dynasty that controlled the area around
Kanem-Bornu was probably
founded around the mid-9th century, and its first capital was at Njimi,
northeast of
In the late 14th century the
Bulala people forced the Sef to abandon Kanem, and the capital was moved to
Birni Ngazargamu in
Under its able rulers of the
16th century (Muammad Dunama, ʿAbd Allāh, and especially Idrīs
Alawma, who reigned c. 1571–1603), Kanem-Bornu (thereafter sometimes called
simply
At the beginning of the 19th
century, the Fulani of Nigeria disputed
Layout of town at the
turn of the 20th century
Important historical
figures
The local wash basin
Then,
it was time to drive down to the town at the base of the hills of Sukur. Though there is a direct road, it looks on
the map to be at least partially dirt, and at least partially in the basin of
the lake, so by consensus we decided to drive back to
On
this road, we saw a completely different landscape, and yet another set of
people. We arrived in the town of
Well,
now it was getting late, so off to the inn composed of chalets that the
National Tourism Board had built with some of the money they received as a
result of Sukur being designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We did have to make a couple of U-turns
before we actually found the right road, but no prob! The right road is marked by a double stone
entrance on the left. Once on the road,
we found that we were following a Berger car!
How interesting! And, it turned
out that the car went into the inn, too!
That’s how we found out “we were not alone!” Yes, a German couple from Berger had already
ascended the mountain and were spending the night in the
The
chalets are new and not absolutely everything is complete, yet, but they are
certainly plenty comfortable.
We
split up into our little roundels and relaxed.
Our guide met us and we arranged the morning with him. S&J, and I presume Baerbel, had, of
course, the great organizers that they are, pre-arranged for a dinner to be
cooked in the village and brought to us at the inn (as well as both breakfast
and lunch the next day!). Salma wasted
no time getting the staff to set up an outdoor table and chairs for us in the
best possible (and level-most) spot, while some of the rest of us walked up the
road in the rolling hills of the bucolic surroundings and a certain someone,
who was from then on designated our “official” photographer (though the
pictures at which you are looking were taken by all of us), recorded the
sunset.
And
the moonrise.
Dinner
was leisurely under the clear skies in the cool evening, and plentiful.
Yes,
morning came much too quickly – 5:30 reverie (or is it revelry – you know, the bugle
call?) so that we would avoid the heat of the day climbing for up to two hours,
and have enough time in Sukur to meet the Xidi and the elders, tour the
kingdom, and be back in time for a meal and head back to Maiduguri. Of course, breakfast was already waiting for
us!
Oh, 5:30 comes much too early for Roman!
It
was just light as we started the ascent, our guide in front. The sun was so low, it had not cleared the hills,
yet, and the air was cool and pleasant and grass- and country-scented. The first thing you see is the 500-year-old
stone walkway which takes you up the entire journey! Pavers, side stones, steps, all beautifully
laid in a free-style mosaic pattern and still holding so well! It’s steeper at the bottom, and there are
stone benches every so often for you to rest on while examining the incredible
vista below you, and the terraced farms of the people of Sukur all around
you.
About
an hour into the walk/climb, we reached the first gate. Here, commoners must pass under a magic ?????
made of goat skin and goat legs. This
???? is put up by the elders (called the Title Holders) to mark the magic
protective boundary of the kingdom.
When
the Xidi ascends, he passes through a special gate which is not under the ????
and therefore he is not subject to their magic.
Commoner gate on left (with commoners), Xidi gate on right
At
this point, the walk becomes more level and we encountered the people of Sukur
farming. Just after the last turn, the
hill rises steeply again, and the walls of the
The
Xidi and Title Holders had been forewarned of our arrival. We were greeted by the men and women there,
and chairs were set out for us in the informal meeting courtyard. Then, the Title Holders were told that we had
arrived and filed in and took their seats under the Elder tree. Lastly, the Xidi and his entourage
approached, and we all stood up until he was comfortably seated. He very graciously welcomed us and asked us the
purpose of our visit. It was then that
we learned that Jonathan not only is a great trip organizer, but an excellent
public speaker, especially when it comes to speaking for a group like ours to
the Xidi of Sukur! Various and sundry
formal greetings and introductions were exchanged between the Xidi and the
Title Holders, and Jonathan (our Xidi?) and the rest of us.
.JPG)
And
then we presented our gifts to the Xidi and the Title Holders,
and
asked permission to enter the
Our guide in Sukur
Here,
I will let pictures do the taking:
.JPG)
How to make rope
Gates have special meanings
Ceiling
The Elder tree and the lower (formal) court
The Xidi’s Throne
The people of Sukur smelt their own iron ore in this smelter (now filled
with corn because it is corn harvest season).
The iron is then formed in the smithy (below)
.JPG)
Drying roofs
Touch this stone and
an evil disease will befall you!
When
our visit came to an end, we again sat down with the Xidi and the Title Holders
and exchanged formal thank yous and good byes.
We did ask to purchase some souvenirs in the forms of the great
hand-made corn carrying baskets, and the hand-made iron scythes. Two baskets were available, and after some
negotiations within our group, two very happy new owners were found for
them!
Then,
a last “official” group photo, and our visit came to an end.
It
was the hot time of the afternoon at our descent, but it was downhill and
breezy, and we had no trouble making it to the lunch which was already waiting
for us!
Now,
it was time to drive back to
y
This
evening, Gisela took us to the ???? club, where, we had been told, we were to
try a specialty dish of twice-fried cooked chicken strips – delicious! (Though they ran out of chickens!) Again, Gisela made the evening for us. Oh, and that traffic jam near the University
we had encountered? Yes, well, that was
a university riot, and the reason it all looked like a transportation hub is
because the students had been ordered to pack up and go home!
.JPG)
Sunday,
after fueling up, we sped along to
Contact
Rating
Moderate to strenuous.
Security
No security issues reported
in the area.
Gear
- Sunscreen & sunhat
- Mosquito/insect repellent
- First Aid Kit
- Map
- Flashlight/torch
- Bottled Water
- Cash for fuel/food
- Spare fuel container (if no reserve tank)
- Camera
- Light back-pack
- Phone & charger
- Passport or ID
- All vehicle papers, driving license, triangle
& extinguisher
- Gift for the Xidi (king) of Sukur – kola nuts,
bags of rice, etc.
- Picnic for first day & knife etc for
subsequent picnics
- Any personal medication
Costs
- Contribution to cost of Guide in Sukur: N
500
- Fuel – to be shared between passengers: approx N
12,000 per person
- Hire of driver – shared between passengers:
approx N 12,000 pp
Optional:
- Accommodation: N
12,000 – 21,000 (sharing/single)
- Food (suggested): N
8,500
Timing
22 November 9+ hours to
23 November visits to areas
around
24 November visit to Sukur
and return to
25 November 10 hours back to
Directions
Drive to