Top Tourist Places to Visit in Al-Ubayyid, Kurdufan, Sudan, North Africa, Africa

Top Tourist Places to Visit in Al-Ubayyid, Kurdufan, Sudan, North Africa, Africa

Al-Ubayyid, also called El Obeid, is the capital city of the North Kurdufan state of the Northeastern African country Sudan. It is located relatively midway between El Fasher and Khartoum, between 13°11′ N latitude and 30°13′ E longitude. Al-Ubayyid is the site of many commercial establishments like the logistics base of the United Nations Mission in Sudan, an oil refinery and an airport. The University of Kordofan is another identity of Al-Ubayyid. Al-Ubayyid is situated around 500 km southwest of the national capital, Khartoum. Al-Ubayyid is positioned 609 meters above sea level.

History of Al-Ubayyid:

According to the historical records, the pashas of Ottoman Egypt were the founder of Al-Ubayyid, in 1821, but after around 60 years Mahdists devastated Al-Ubayyid in 1883. Al-Ubayyid was rebuilt after the decline of the Mahdist empire in the year 1898.

How to reach Al-Ubayyid?

Al-Ubayyid is an important transportation hub connecting southern part of Sudan to the north and east Sudan. It is served by El Obeid Airport with scheduled flight services from the national capital Khartoum.

By bus, it takes around nine hours to travel the distance of around 500 km from Khartoum to Al-Ubayyid. This route is served by many prominent Sudanese bus companies throughout the year. For local travel, minibuses and rental vehicles like cars and bikes are the options in Al-Ubayyid.

Food and Shopping in Al-Ubayyid:

Al-Ubayyid is relatively an upgraded city with many tourist favor shops, mainly handicraft stores with a wide range of locally produced art and craft works. Al-Ubayyid is also famous for its traditional restaurants.

Things to do in Al-Ubayyid:

Shopping
Visiting university
Walking

Tourist Attractions in Al-Ubayyid:

University of Kordofan:

The University of Kordofan was founded in 1990 and is one of the recognized universities of Sudan. It is one of the member universities of the Federation of the Universities of the Islamic World. The University of Kordofan holds several institutions in its under, including Gum Arabic Research Centre. In Al-Ubayyid, the university houses four campuses.

El Obeid Airport:

The El Obeid Airport is one of the important airports of Sudan, located around 5 km away from the city centre. The airport has 3,000 meters runway and it can be reached by taxis from Al-Ubayyid city.

Khartoum:

Khartoum is the capital of Sudan, situated around 500 km northeast of Al-Ubayyid. It is also the tourism capital of Sudan with a number of renowned museums, including Sudan Presidential Palace Museum and one of the largest markets in Africa, Souq Omdurman. The Khalifa’s House is one of the prominent historic attractions of Khartoum.

List of other places of interest near Al-Ubayyid include:

Al Fashir University
Jebel Barkal
Tuti Island
University of Khartoum
Jabal al-Awliya’ Dam
Nile Street
Al Kabir Mosque
WWII Cemetery
Sudan Art Diwan
Sudan National Museum
Pyramids of Meroe
Temple of Amun
Pyramids of Gebel Barkal
Khartoum War Cemetery

Best time to visit Al-Ubayyid:

The ideal time to visit Al-Ubayyid is from December to March when the dry season runs in the country.

Hotels in and around Al-Ubayyid:

There are hotels limited in number in Al-Ubayyid, on this point, for tourists’ convenience, below is provided the list of hotels in the national capital Khartoum (around 500 km from Al-Ubayyid). Both buses and flights are regular between Al-Ubayyid and Khartoum. Also, most hotels in Khartoum offer advance booking facility through online.