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Khartoum
*** Shopping-Tip: Khartoum
Image:Su-map.png thumb|right|250px|Map of Sudan with Khartoum
'''Khartoum''' ( '''الخرطوم''' '''al-Ḫarṭūm''' "
Elephant Trunk") is the
capital of
Sudan and of
Khartoum (state) Khartoum State. It is located at the point where the
White Nile, flowing north from
Uganda, meets the
Blue Nile, flowing west from
Ethiopia. The merger of the two niles is known as "the ''Mogran''". The merged
Nile flows north towards
Egypt and the
Mediterranean Sea.
The city proper has a population of well over a million inhabitants, making it the second largest city in the country, but forms with its neighbours, joined by bridges,
Khartoum North (''al-Khartūm Bahrī'') and
Omdurman (''Umm DurmÄ?n'') a metropolis totalling probably over four million. Khartoum is located at 15°35'17" North, 32°32'3" East (15.588056, 32.534167). [http://earth-info.nga.mil/gns.html/cntry_files.html]
Image: Khartoum - Sudan - 1926 - Gordon Memorial at College.jpg thumb|left|Gordon Memorial at University 1926
The city is home to the
University of Khartoum, founded in 1903 as Gordon Memorial College. Other universities are a branch of
Cairo University and
Khartoum Polytechnic University.
Sudan National Museum has important holdings from the numerous ancient civilizations of the region.
Early history
Image:Khartoum - Sudan - 1926 - Building.jpg thumb|right|Khartoum Sudan 1926 British Embassy
Khartoum was founded in
1821 as an outpost for the
Egyptian army, but grew as a regional center of trade, including the
Slavery slave trade. Troops loyal to the
Mahdi Muhammad Ahmad laid siege to Khartoum starting on
March 13,
1884 against the defenders led by
United Kingdom British General
Charles George Gordon. The heavily damaged city fell to the Mahdists on
January 26,
1885. Omdurman was the scene of the bloody
Battle of Omdurman battle (
September 2,
1898) in which British forces under
Sirdar Horatio Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener Horatio Kitchener defeated the Mahdist forces defending the city.
Image:Map Sudan Khartoum.png thumb|250px|Map of Khartoum with Omdurman and Bahri
Recent history
In 1973, the city was the site of a
Khartoum diplomatic assassinations hostage crisis in which members of
Black September (group) Black September held ten hostages at the
Saudi Arabia Saudi embassy, five of whom were diplomats. The US ambassador, the US deputy ambassador, and the Belgian Chargé d'affaires were murdered. The remaining hostages were released (see
Khartoum diplomatic assassinations).
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Khartoum was the destination for hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing conflicts in neighboring nations such as
Chad,
Ethiopia and
Uganda. The refugees settled in large slums at the outskirts of the city. From the mid-1980s onward, large numbers of
internally displaced person internally displaced from the violence of the
Second Sudanese Civil War and
Darfur conflict have settled around Khartoum.
Image:Khartoum 32.53706E 15.60754N.jpg thumb|left|200px|Satellite image of Khartoum with Omdurman and Bahri
Following the
1998 U.S. embassy bombings, the
United States accused
Osama bin Laden's
al-Qaeda group of responsibility and launched
cruise missile attacks (
August 20) on the
al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory in Khartoum.
Gallery
Image:Khartoum - Sudan - 1926 - Tramway.jpg|Khartoum tramway 1926
Image:Sudan Khartoum View with Traffic 2003.jpg|View of the traffic in the city of Khartoum
External links
-
Earth from Space - Khartoum
-
Satellite picture by Google Maps
Category:Capitals in Africa
Category:Cities in Sudan
ar:خرطوم
bg:Хартум
ca:Khartum
cs:Chartúm
da:Khartoum
de:Khartum
et:Hartum
es:Jartum
eo:Ĥartumo
fr:Khartoum
gl:Khartún - الخرطوم
ko:하르툼
io:Khartoum
id:Khartoum
is:Kartúm
it:Khartum
he:חרטו×?
lt:Chartumas
hu:Kartúm
nl:Khartoem
ja:ãƒ?ルツーãƒ
no:Khartoum
os:Хартум
pl:Chartum
pt:Cartum
ru:Хартум
sk:Chartúm
sr:Картум
fi:Khartum
sv:Khartoum
zh:喀土穆
*** Shopping-Tip: Khartoum
