Omdurman

Omdurman (أم درمان) lies across the Nile from Khartoum and is the older and more traditional half of the capital, built as the Mahdist capital in the 1880s. Its souk is the largest in Sudan, a sprawl of alleys selling silver, spices, ebony and camel saddles. The silver domed tomb of the Mahdi and the Khalifa's House museum stand at its historic centre. On Friday afternoons the Hamed al-Nil cemetery fills with Sufi dervishes in patched green and red robes who chant and spin until sunset, the single most watched ritual in the country.