The Nubian Meroe pyramids, located around 200 kilometers from the Sudanese capital Khartoum, seem to have been forgotten by the modern world. Nestled between sand dunes with no restaurants or hotels nearby, you feel as if you are on the set of a science-fiction film rather than in the middle of a desert.
The pyramids of the Kushite rulers at Meroe, Northern State, Sudan, Dec. 28, 2018.
Nubian pyramids were built by the rulers of the ancient Kushite kingdoms. The area of the Nile valley known as Nubia, which lies in the north of present-day Sudan, was home to three Kushite kingdoms during antiquity. The first had its capital at Kerma between 2500 and 1500 B.C.
The second was centered on Napata between 1000 and 300 B.C. Finally, the last kingdom was centered on Meroe between 300 B.C. and A.D. 300. They are built of granite and sandstone. The pyramids were partially demolished by Italian treasure hunter Giuseppe Ferlini in the 1830s.
The Nubian-style pyramids emulated a form of Egyptian private elite family pyramid that was common during the new kingdom. There are twice as many Nubian pyramids still standing today as there are Egyptian ones. The Nubian pyramids are recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Sudanese tourists visit the pyramids of the Kushite rulers at Meroe, Northern State, Sudan, Dec. 28, 2018.
