Photo of the Day (2.16.10)

by Stephen Greenwood on
Today’s breathtaking Photo of the Day was shot near Nasir, Sudan by photographer Austin Mann. In the photograph’s caption, Mann explains that “the wing of this plane that crashed during the war in ’98 has now turned into a diving board for young boys.” A beautifully captured and composed frame that also tells a powerful story.

Nasir is a southern Sudanese town on the Sobat River (near the Ethiopian border). During Sudan’s second North-South civil war, the town served as the base for a powerful splinter faction of the SPLA, the southern guerrilla army that fought the North in the civil war.

If you want to see more, Mann has a wide series of travel shots that are definitely worth checking out. Do you have photos that tell a great story? Submit them to our Flickr Pool and they might be featured as the Photo of the Day!

Travel tips from New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof

by Aaron Hotfelder on

For my money, New York Times op-ed columnist Nicholas Kristof is one of the best in the business. His dogged reporting on the atrocities in Darfur has brough much-needed attention to that region, and his yearly “Win a trip to Africa with Nick Kristof” contest inspires young people all over the world to consider visiting a part of the world they ordinarily wouldn’t.

So I was happy to see in Kristof’s most recent column a list of travel tips for, among other things, evading bandits, surviving bus rides, and holding on to your cash. Here’s a sample of a few:

  • “Remember that the scariest people aren’t warlords, but drivers. In buses I sometimes use my pack as an airbag; after one crash I was the only passenger not hospitalized.”
  • “If you’re a woman held up in an isolated area, stick out your stomach, pat it and signal that you’re pregnant. You might also invest in a cheap wedding band, for imaginary husbands deflect unwanted suitors.”
  • “If you are held up by bandits with large guns, shake hands respectfully with each of your persecutors. It’s very important to be polite to people who might kill you. Surprisingly often, child soldiers and other bandits will reciprocate your fake friendliness and settle for some cash rather than everything you possess. I’ve even had thugs warmly exchange addresses with me, after robbing me.”
  • “[D]on’t be so cautious that you miss the magic of escaping your comfort zone and mingling with local people and staying in their homes. The risks are minimal compared with the wonders of spending time in a small village. So take a gap year, or volunteer in a village or a slum. And even if everything goes wrong and you are robbed and catch malaria, shrug it off – those are precisely the kinds of authentic interactions with local cultures that, in retrospect, enrich a journey and life itself.”

Well said! Check out the full list here. Elsewhere, I defended Kristof’s anti-anti-sweatshop stance here.

Tour d’Afrique Off and Running!

by Kraig Becker on

The 2009 edition of the Tour d’Afrique got underway last Sunday, with cyclists setting out from Cairo, Egypt on a 7317 mile long race to Cape Town, South Africa. In between they’ll pass through the Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana, and Namibia, fostering international goodwill along the way, while raising funds for environmental protection and promoting cycling in Africa.

The race is broken down into 96 stages of various lengths, with a typical day getting underway at 7:30 AM, when the top riders start out on the course. They are soon followed by another group who may not be contending for the top spot, but still want to complete every mile, while the “Back Pack” is made up of a group of riders who just want to enjoy the adventure and soak up some of the culture of the countries they are passing through.

This is the seventh year that the race has been run, and the web coverage seems to be the best ever. For instance, there are photos from each stage, videos from the various countries and introductions for some of the riders, and a daily blog with results and news from the course.

With six stages done, the riders have more than three months of riding ahead of them through a variety of climates and terrains before reaching their final destination on May 9th. They’ll struggle through the Sahara Desert, roll across the Equator, and race across an endless savannah, and they each payed more than $10,000 for the privledge. Seems like it’s an adventure worth every penny.

Sudan Airways Airbus bursts into flames in Khartoum

by Grant Martin on

A Sudanese aircraft inbound from Damascus and Amman burst into flames on the tarmac yesterday in Khartoum as it was taxiing towards the terminal. News reporters are still sifting out the details, but it appears that the problem was not related to the poor weather near the airfield or any pilot error but rather a technical problem with one of the engines. At this point, it seems that one of the engines had a problem, ignited and the resulting fire spread throughout the rest of the aircraft.

The flight crew were fortunately able to evacuate about 170 passengers out of the Airbus 310 before the fire took hold. Initial reports of over 100 casualties have since been revised to 30 with only 5 pulled out of the wreckage so far.

As for the aircraft, the entire airframe has been consumed by the blazing hot jet fuel fire. Some reports indicate that the craft may have split in two on the tarmac as well, but those rumors have yet to be confirmed.

Sudan has a dicey history with air safety, and many feared that the problem was poor air traffic management or even terrorist related. At this point, however, the problem still appears to be technical. We’ll know more when accident investigators are able to get on site and track down the cause of the crash.

Sudan man marries a goat

by Iva Skoch on

This is an important security announcement for all of you, who plan on a) visiting Sudan b) engaging in sexual relations with farm animals, or c) both. Stay away from goats in Sudan!

Let this story serve as a lesson to you. A man from Sudan has been forced to take a goat as his wife after he was caught having sex with the animal, BBC reports. The goat’s owner, Mr Alifi, said he surprised the man with his goat and took him to a council of elders and they ordered the man, Mr Tombe, to pay a dowry of 15,000 Sudanese dinars ($50) to Mr Alifi.

The intercourse happened the night before Valentine’s day (awww) and as far as anyone knows, they are still together. The newlyweds are registered at Pottery Barn (they should be, at least.)

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(Click to read the bizarre stories!)