Sports day, birthday celebrations and photos!

My third teaching week in Khartoum and already I’ve had a day off! Well, not exactly a day off as it was sports day on Thursday, but this did mean one less day teaching (It’s an easy life!!!). Sports day was great fun, but unfortunately the house which I have been assigned to (imaginatively called ‘Nile’) came second. If only I had won the teachers race!!!!

Most of the field events took place in the school grounds, where I was in charge of the long jump, but the track events took place in a field owned by another school called Comboni. Although when I say field, I really mean sand pit! There was so little grass that the lanes had to be marked out using flour! (so that’s where the Hash got the idea from!) Luckily it wasn’t too windy or else the lanes could have moved half way through a race. Having said that, most students had trouble staying in their lanes anyway!

Unfortunately there are no photos of sports day (There are official photos, but obviously I can’t publish them without permission). In fact, taking photos in Sudan is problematic at the best of times, so it is not just a question of child protection in school. Taking photos of any public building could land you in jail (especially bridges), and obviously many local Sudanese will also take offence if photographs are taken of them. This is because according to some interpretations of Islam, taking a photo of an animate and living being is forbidden. So as you may have noticed, I have been very conservative with photos on this blog so far. Having said that, it is possible to obtain a photograph permit in Sudan, which I aim to get in the near future.

I’m now going to completely contradict myself by admitting that I actually took lots of photos at a celebration of the Prophet Mohammed’s birthday (peace be upon him), which I attended yesterday (Sunday) in Riyad, which is part of Khartoum. The event was an amazing spectacle, and a fascinating insight into Sudanese culture. On the one hand there were many local Sudanese and religious leaders preaching, praying and chanting hadith. On the other hand, there were so many brightly coloured flags, fairy lights, sweet stalls and even party hats – it was just like any other birthday celebration!

I even saw a gathering of the legendary Mahdi Party, perhaps best known for leading the Mahdi uprising against Anglo-Egyptian rule in Sudan at the end of the 19th century, which ultimately led to the death of General Gordon. Mahdists also believe in the return of ‘the guided one’ who will return to earth before judgement day to redeem Islam. This legend is told in a series of hadiths (hence the chanting) and is not actually mentioned in the Qur’an, which is why it is not universally accepted across the Islamic world.

Of course, it is experiencing events like this which attracted me to Sudan in the first place and so I hope I will get further opportunities like this in the future.

NB – When referring to the Prophet Mohammed, you should always follow this by saying or writing ‘peace be upon him’ as I did above. I considered this wise, considering everything which is published on-line, is and will remain public. I’m sure any comments will be equally respectful.