What to see in Sudan: 10 must-sees

Stop at Naqa's Roman kiosk, a tiny temple that blends Corinthian columns with reliefs of the lion god Apedemak, then walk on to the Temple of Amun, surrounded by desert with not a single fence. Explore the site where the Kingdom of Kush raised its most distinctive sanctuaries, 40 kilometers from Musawwarat. Take in the elephant reliefs and the lion goddess, carved in stone untouched for two thousand years.

Walk among the pyramids of the cemetery where Taharqo rests—the Kushite pharaoh who ruled Egypt and appears in the Bible—and find his tomb, the largest in Nubia, carved beneath a brick pyramid. Admire the dozen queens' tombs with vaulted roofs unique in the ancient world, and the desert that separates them from the sacred mountain of Jebel Barkal. It's the intimate face of Kushite power.

Climb among the golden dunes to the three royal cemeteries of the Kingdom of Kush, where more than a hundred sandstone pyramids line desert ridges. Walk around the tombs of kings and queens from the 3rd century BC, admire the reliefs on the funerary temples, and understand why this site, a World Heritage Site since 2011, produced more pyramids than Egypt. Explore the three northern, southern, and western fields before the midday sun beats down.

Take a boat across to the coral island where the city of sultans once stood, with mansions of white coral and Ottoman-style wood that the Red Sea swallowed after the port's decline. Stroll among the restored ruins of the pasha's house and the mosques, and watch the mangrove reclaim street after street. For centuries it was the departure point for pilgrims and slaves bound for Mecca; today it is a coral silence facing the ferry.

Walk among the columns of the most beautiful temple in Nubia, erected by Amenhotep III, with reliefs of the Sed festival that pharaohs used to renew their divine power. Admire the papyrus and lotus capitals, look for the inscription of Tutankhamun's cartouche, and understand why Egyptian archaeology crosses the border into its southern neighbor. It is Nubia's answer to Luxor, without the queues or the vendors.

Dive into the Red Sea coral atoll where hammerhead sharks and manta rays patrol the blue lagoon, an hour by boat from the Sudanese port. Swim among beds of hard and soft coral, drop by the Italian research station at the lighthouse, and understand why Cousteau filmed his documentaries here. It is the finest dive site in the entire Red Sea without the crowds of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Explore the world's most complete Nubian collection: statues of Black pharaohs, pyramid fragments, and the stelae documenting a thousand years of the Kingdom of Kush, gathered in a building on the banks of the Blue Nile. Head up to the garden of reconstructed temples, including two gifted by Egypt before the Aswan Dam, and check out the granite figures of Taharqo. Two hours are enough to understand what Kush was before you see its ruins.

From the Al-Mogran viewpoint, watch the exact spot where the Blue Nile, heavy with volcanic silt, embraces the White Nile without mixing for kilometers, each river keeping its own color. Take a sunset felucca ride across the two waters, dine at the corniche restaurants, and photograph the marker where Africa divides its rivers. It's the geographic gesture that explains half of Sudan.