Places to Explore
Often overlooked in favour of Egypt, we uncover the Kingdom of Kush’s wonders
1 JEBEL BARKAL AND THE TEMPLE OF AMUN
KARIMA, SUDAN
Located in the Nubia region of Sudan, this site is part of a wider area of sacred religious grounds whose traditions were taken on by the Second Kingdom of Kush. Jebel Barkal is a mountain on the outskirts of the city of Karima, and after the discovery of the mountain, the Ancient Egyptians came to believe that the God Amun lived inside of it, with it eventually becoming an important religious centre. The Egyptians believed that Amun had claimed them as his ‘bodily sons’ to justify their rule over the Nubians. After Egypt’s fall, the Kingdom of Kush carried on these beliefs and made the area their capital. At the base of this mountain stood the Temple of Amun, which the Kushites heavily renovated to demonstrate their status as the heirs of Egypt and worshipers of Amun. Today the temple is in ruins on the outskirts of the town of Karima, but visitors can walk around and explore its ruins and climb Jebel Barkal.
2 NAPATAN PYRAMIDS
SAMAREIT AND KARIMA, SUDAN
Napata was the second capital of the Kushite Kingdom having taken over the area after Egypt’s fall and proclaimed themselves the 25th Egyptian dynasty. The Kushite rulers were buried in the Valley of the Nile, initially, in ornate tombs, then transitioning to being buried within tumuli or earth mounds, to being covered by pyramids. The number of pyramids in this region and across Sudan (with a total of over 200) makes it the country with the most pyramids. The oldest of these burial sites is at Kurru just south of Jebel Barkal, where centuries of Kushite rulers were buried. Their tombs and pyramids featured Egyptian art of the Kushites’ transition into the afterlife. In the 600s BCE the important Kushite king, Taharqo, moved the royal cemetery across the river to Nuri. Today, these pyramids are on the outskirts of the towns of Samareit and Karima on the edge of the desert and have been damaged across the centuries, but visitors can get very close to the pyramids.
3 ISLAND OF MEROË
KABUSHIYA, SUDAN
In the desert on the edge of the town of Kabushiya, just off the Nile lies the ancient Kushite third capital of Meroë. The seat of the kingdom moved south to Meroë from Napata in around 590 BCE, and it became an impressive walled city with elaborate palaces and temples dedicated to the gods, including Amun. Many of these wonders have disappeared or fallen into ruin. Meroë was an important site for
