Musawwarat es-Sufra

Musawwarat es-Sufra sits in a shallow desert valley north of Naqa and holds the strangest building of the Kushite world, the Great Enclosure. It is a sprawl of courtyards, ramps, corridors and small temples covering several hectares with no clear parallel anywhere, variously read as a pilgrimage centre, a royal retreat or a training ground for war elephants. Elephants appear repeatedly in its reliefs and as free standing statues, which is unusual in the region. A separate Lion Temple stands nearby, reconstructed from fallen blocks, and the site forms part of the UNESCO Island of Meroe.