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uglyscot Says: Take a trip out to el Ain where the reservoirs are. There are , if I remember correctly , three. When we were there two had dried up and the third had very little left, so the town was being rationed and only getting water for a short time each day.However, in the rainy...
mafi_moya Says: Victory Park is is quite a good social place at night (see nightlife) and it's named after the Mahdi's defeat of the Anglo-Egyptian forces of Hicks Pasha. The Mahdi's nationalist and religious forces captured El Obeid in January 1883. With a large following in the area they...
mafi_moya Says: The museum is like a much smaller and regionally-specific version of the National Museum in Khartoum. There are lots of old artefacts of civilisations from thousands of years ago, going all the way back to the Stone Age, as well as more recent cannons, guns and a chainmail...
mafi_moya Says: Depending on who you listen to this is either the biggest cathedral in Sudan or the biggest in the whole of Africa. I'm sure the first claim is probably right but I'm a bit sceptical about the second.Nonetheless, it is a striking cathedral with its distinctive striped design...
Riyyad Holliday Hotel: Not really very good
Hut2009 Says: My travel guide described this restaurant as the only one worth to visit for a taste of 'International' cuisine.I took my friends there for my birthday. The place is richly decorated but the food is just about average, relatively expensive for what is served and the portions...
mafi_moya Says: Asida is the city's most well known contribution to the culinary world. It is found elsewhere in Sudan but El Obeid is especially famous for it and you'll have lots of invitations to try it while here. It's usually described as porridge - but to anybody familiar with the...
mafi_moya Says: Victory Park, in the centre of town, gets its name from a battle during the Mahdist uprising (see must-see activities). Looking at the stalls, seats and rides in the park they seem to date from the battle itself! Its delapitated state belies its status as the premier night...
mafi_moya Says: Technically I suppose the Turkish cafe should have gone under 'restaurants' as you go in to eat and drink. But given the paucity of nightlife in Al Ubayyid, it also acts as a place for the young and reasonably wealthy to hang out at night, gossip and as close as they can get...
Hut2009 Says: Take the bus from the new bus terminal in the south of Khartoum (see my tip on this terminal).The bus leaves around 7:15am. It is one of the new luxury buses and the ticket cost SDG 49 in July 2009. The bus is air conditioned and shows videos: one American movie (but with...
uglyscot Says: In much of Kordofan the best means of travelling is by donkey, or better still by camel.Merchants used to take camels in caravans [ and still do] to Egypt to sell for meat. For those who know, camel liver is delicious.In el Obeid town there are cars and taxis, and lorries...
mafi_moya Says: El Obeid also serves as a stop-off point for journeys further south. At a different bus station to the one for Khartoum - on the southern outskirts of the city and you'll need a bus from the main souk to get there - you'll find buses and trucks heading south to Kadugli,...
mafi_moya Says: Buses to El Obeid leave Khartoum from Souk Shaabi in the south of the city. All standards of buses are available and leave fairly frequently throughout the morning. First class buses cost about $13 and take about 7 or 8 hours on one of the country's best roads. Lower class...
How to get ripped off in one easy step!
maykal Says: As you descend from the bus at the central bus station, several drivers will grab your arms and steer you towards their vehicles. As a new arrival, unsure of the city layout, we accepted a ride in a taxi, and the driver promised to take us to a hotel. "Very far, too far to...
Various Shops in the center: Shopping for food in El Obeid
Hut2009 Says: On the street besides the Sudanese Central bank (not the street where the entrance is, but the side street), you’ll find a row of shops for meat and fruit & vegetables and several small super-markets. One of the super-markets has written “Welcome” in English above the door...
mafi_moya Says: Outside of the city of El Obeid are countless small villages, becoming increasingly isolated and basic as they stretch far into the desert. Quite near to the village of Kortaggat is a very small hamlet that seems to have a disproportionate number of fields and farmlands for...
mafi_moya Says: Compared to Khartoum and the North, the good people of El Obeid have rather fewer scruples about taking your money off you. Whereas in many parts of Khartoum you can offer a shopkeeper a random bundle of notes and he'll return with the correct change, in El Obeid most won't...
mafi_moya Says: The main souk is interesting to wander around for a bit but there's little to distinguish it from the souks of other cities. More interesting is a camel market that is held occasionally, a fair walk from the city centre. I was never able to work out exactly when it's on as...
Hut2009 Says: It took me quite some time to find an Internet Cafe in El Obeid. It isn’t advertised at all. People who need it probably know where it is. The one I found is in the street of the Bank of Khartoum under a sign saying “Al Hadi Mohammed Husein Krisnallah & Sons“ in a kind of...
uglyscot Says: I am fascinated by camels. They look so ungainly and supercilious. They are said to be capable of being mean or bad tempered. But there is something romantic about a herd of camels walking through the desert. Sudan was known, still is probably, for the camel caravans that...
Good Russians and Bad Russians!
mafi_moya Says: Apart from a few Catholic nuns (who get absolutely everywhere!) the only other 'khawajas' in town were Russian pilots flying Antonov planes to the south. The Russians were divided into two groups who couldn't stand the sight of each other!On the one hand was the group flying...
Plan a Al Ubayyid vacation with reviews, tips and photos posted by real travelers and Al Ubayyid locals
As a tourist, you won't miss the cathedral...partly because it lies next to the security police office which you will be drageed off to on arrival! Built by the...
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I've spent quite a bit of time in Al Ubayyid (or El Obeid in its commonly used English spelling) and visited several times - first to work there for a couple of months and then later returning to...
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I have been to El Obeid twice. The first time I flew from Khartoum by Sudan Airways. It was about half an hour's flight. I'd never realised how bare the desert is until I took that flight. El Obeid is...
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First impressions tend to stick in my mind, and unfortunately I was not enamoured with the city on arrival. Being overcharged by a taxi driver ($2 for a two minute ride!!!), quoted ridiculous prices...
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El Obeid is one of the most important towns in the Sudan, especially in the western part of Sudan. It is particularly important for producing gum arabic, and for livestock. It has a problem of water...
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