When Phil arrived at the mosque near the bus station to pick me up, he took one look at me, heard me say I was sick, and we went directly to a medical clinic near his home.

Thanks to Phil for basically saving my life! They looked me over and said they wanted to keep me overnight for observation. I was a bit scared, but Phil was reassuring. The doctor kept returning to whether I had been drinking. Phil says that when he took my blood pressure, he did it on both arms because he wanted to check for tracks on my arms. He probably thought I was an alcoholic or other kind of drug addict, and he prescribed a shot of B vitamins. Was I scared to be admitted to a hospital in Khartoum? Hell, yes! But honestly, the hospital was clean and they used sterile needles. Phil stayed with me until after they did a blood draw and got me situated in my bed. They did have trouble poking me for a shunt for the IV, probably because I was so dehydrated. Shortly thereafter, they started a dextrose IV, which helped immensely by rehydrating me. By late morning on March 15, we received the test results from my stool sample which indicated I had gastroenteritis. This was actually good news! I now knew that I needed to take a round of Cipro antibiotics. So, when Phil came back to the hospital, we checked me out. I paid nearly US$500 for the hospital stay. We went to Phil’s place, which to me was heavenly. I didn’t have to worry about contaminated food or water. He even has airconditioning and safe ice cubes!Here’s a picture from outside Phil’s apartment, a typical city scene, and some of the many water jugs that provide free water to anyone stopping by around Khartoum.

Khartoum boasts some modern buildings along with poverty-striken urban sprawl, mostly from the tens or hundreds of thousands of refugees from the wars in the south and now from the Darfur conflict. Sudan runs primarily under Sharia law, although apparently part of the agreement forged out of peace with the south involves separate justice systems for those who are not under Sharia law. The area by the banks of the Blue Nile, the White Nile, and their confluence in Khartoum, have rich soil and green plants.

Here is a fancy new egg-shaped hotel, the famous confluence of the Blue Nile from Ethiopia with the White Nile coming from southern Sudan, and the Sudan Parliament building on the Omdurman banks of the Nile.

An old mosque in Khartoum and some great views from the Palace Hotel.

Interesting paintings on a Coptic church, including one of St. George slaying the dragon (also very popular in Ethiopia), plus bridges on the Nile.

I’ve been relaxing and recovering at Phil’s place in Khartoum until now, March 23. I now feel like a human being again. On March 26, I’m planning to head north in Sudan along the Nile, then to Egypt.