Sudan
Updated: Sep 15, 2022
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Country Name
Sudan, or officially the Republic of Sudan.
Location
Sudan is a country in North-East Africa. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, Libya to the northwest, Chad to the west, the Central African Republic to the southwest, South Sudan to the south, Ethiopia to the southeast, Eritrea to the east, and the Red Sea to the northeast.
Capital
Khartoum.
Reason for Naming the country
The country's name Sudan is a name given to a geographical region to the south of the Sahara, stretching from Western Africa to eastern Central Africa. The name derives from the Arabic bilād as-sūdān (بلاد السودان), or the "Land of the Blacks".
The name is one of several toponyms sharing similar etymologies, ultimately meaning "land of the blacks" or similar meanings, in reference to the dark skin of the inhabitants.
Flag
The current flag was adopted on May 20, 1970.
The flag consists of three horizontal stripes red, white, and black colors and a green wedge in the left part of the flag.
The red color represents struggles and bloodshed, the white color represents Islamic people, peace, and love, the black color represents Sudan itself, and the green represents the prosperity and agricultural tradition of Sudan.
*Flag Facts:
- The current flag is very similar to the former flag of Libya, which also bears traditional pan-Arab colors to commemorate solidarity with the other Arab nations.
- Variations of the red-white-black flag have been used in various Arab flags such as Syria, Egypt, Yemen, Libya*, and Iraq.
*(The flag is identical to the flag of Libya from 1969–1972.).
Language
Sudan has two official languages: Arabic and English. Approximately 70 languages are native to Sudan.
Sudanese Arabic is the most widely spoken language in the country and is the dominant tongue in the country. This dialect is different from the Egyptian Arabic dialect. Sudanese Arabic has similar accents to the ones in Saudi Arabia.
There are notable differences in the Arabic spoken in Sudan by region. In Southern Sudan for example, Juba Arabic is more common.
Over time, Sudanese Arabic has been influenced by various Nubian languages.
Two other languages spoken in Sudan are: the Beja language, also named Bedawi The language is native to the Beja community who inhabit the Red Sea's western coast.
And the other language is Hausa which is spoken by a western community. The Tigre language, dominant in Eritrea, also has some speakers in Sudan.
Religion
Islam is the dominant religion in Sudan, most Sudanese adhere to the Sunni branch of Islam. Also most Sunni follow the Maliki rites while the other follows Shafi and Hanafi rites. Shia Muslims are a growing number in the City of Khartoum and the surrounding villages. Christians in Sudan are mostly Catholics.
Currency
Sudanese pound (SDG).
Time Zone
+02:00 GMT.
Government Regime
Federal provisional government.
Climate
In Sudan, the climate is desert in the north and on the coast of the Red Sea, while it's semi-desert or semi-arid in the south, which is affected by the summer monsoon.
The best time to travel to Sudan is winter, and in particular, the months of December and January. There is sunny weather everywhere, except on the Red Sea coast, where there can be a bit of cloudiness and some showers; in the south and the east, it's hot during the day, but generally cool at night, while in the north, it can get cold at night. By February, the temperature begins to rise across the country, and in the south, where it was already intense, it becomes scorching.