Sudan The Travel Show

There'll be a full bulletin at the top of the hour,

but now on BBC News it's time for The Travel Show.

This week we are in Sudan to explore the vast, ancient ruins that

tourists rarely visit.

There are about 220 pyramids here which is a lot more

than the entire country of Egypt.

You can just see them for kind of miles.

We go behind the scenes at one of Havana's hidden restaurants.

And I'm in Peru getting to grips with this acrobatic

and very noisy dance.

First up this week, we are taking a road trip through Sudan.

It is a country that's been marked by conflict in recent years and some

regions are still off-limits to tourists, but it is possible

with careful planning to go and explore some of the country's

amazing archaeological sites, pyramids and temples that date

back thousands of years.

We sent Benjamin Zan in search of the remains of an ancient kingdom

200 kilometres north of the capital Khartoum.

Hey, guys, high-fives.

How's it going?

Nice to see you.

I'm going to give you a hug.

How's it going?

Thank you for coming.

No problem, sure.

So, where are we going?

We are going to see the pyramids?

How long does it take?

About four or five hours.

We probably should go.

Do you have any Sudanese card games we could play?

You can put on your headphones and listen to your own music.

That's not a game, that's just being anti-social.

And so we were off on a very long and very hot road trip.

Soon it was time for our first stop, coffee.

The Sudanese love their coffee and for good reason.

Does it annoy you that not many people know about these pyramids?

It actually does because Sudan has a very rich history.

As a country so diverse it's huge, it was one of the biggest

countries in Africa, so that brings a lot of diversity

because we were influenced by Arabs, African countries and everything.

But people don't know about all of that.

People only know about what the media usually shows,

the wars, the starvation, blah, blah, blah.

Exactly, it doesn't show anything that's rich and anything that

would impress people into coming here.

They believe pyramids, Egypt, Nile, in Egypt.

Sudan has a very rich culture, it's very diverse, but still people

don't actually know about it.

Sometimes that kind of makes you sad because this country has

like a lot of history.

Exactly.

As we set off again we soon came across the ancient city of Naqa.

I can only imagine the civilisation that was here, that did this.

It is like walking in history.

It's the middle of nowhere.

It's like this wire, that bit, I can go through easily.

It is protected by a 12-year-old kid!

It's beautiful.

Look at the engravings.

This is a ruined, ancient city, one of the largest ruined

sites in the country.

Back in the day it was an important part of the Kushiti kingdom of Meroe

due to its proximity to the Nile and it served as a bridge between

the Mediterranean world and Africa.

But now it lies pretty much unprotected.

The only real protection here comes from a group of villagers

who periodically visit the well to get water.

This is the closest thing to security of these temples.

These are the local villagers who have come here to get water.

That is pretty much it, there is no one else around.

As we explored further we found some bones

on the other side of the ruins.

There are bones in here.

I know.

That is actually crazy, though.

It is.

It is like thigh bones.

It looks so untouched, no one has been inside.

As it was getting late we journeyed on.

The roads here are a long and the sun sets fast and soon

we realised the pyramids would have to wait until the following day.

We stopped at a roadside restaurant to eat.

We have a sort of a barbecue but not your own idea

of what barbecue is.

There is food which is the local, traditional food of Sudan.

After the meal as we had nowhere to stay we asked around and found

a man willing to accommodate us.

The only catch was that we were going to be sleeping outside.

We are actually sleeping outside which, to my surprise,

is not that uncommon here in Sudan.

So do people actually sleep outside in Sudan?

Basically in towns most people sleep outside because the sun works

as an natural alarm.

They mostly need to wake up early, like the first break of light,

to go out like farmers and stuff.

Me and my new friends drifted off.

The next morning it was finally time to see what we came here for.

We got up early.

And made a quick stop at a coffee shop miles away from the pyramids.

Despite being so close, the owner told me neither he nor any

of his friends or family had been taught the history of the pyramids.

Growing up did you tell each other stories about

what the pyramids were?

Did people used to be scared of the pyramids?

Then we journeyed on to see them for ourselves.

On arrival it was more impressive than I had imagined.

We had the entire place to ourselves.

Oh.

How do you feel?

We made it.

My legs, I can't feel my legs.

All right, so we are actually in the middle of the desert, kind of.

We have got history for ourselves.

Look at it, it's just crazy.

And they just sit here completely unguarded.

Look at it, this is just like the actual desert.

These Nubian pyramids are over 4000 years old and are a UNESCO

World Heritage site.

Despite that, though, they are completely deserted.

Visitor numbers are tiny, about 15,000 a year compared

to the millions who go to the pyramids in Egypt.

And due to being completely unprotected, the pyramids

and the history here have been damaged and vandalised.

Clearly not many have respected it.

Still, it was like nothing I had ever seen.

The door is even unlocked to one of the pyramids.

Mazin gave me a bit of a history lesson on what I was seeing.

There are more pyramids in this section alone than in Egypt.

There are about 200 pyramids.

You can notice that most of the heads of

the pyramids are chopped off.

That is an Italian explorer.

He came here in the 1830s and he chopped off like 14

pyramids searching for gold and we still don't

know what he found.

Do you know what they were used for?

Yes, they were actually tombs for the black pharaohs

and qeens back in the days.

They buried them here with their belongings,

and clothing and everything.

It's a sort of respect for the kings of course.

What is the difference between these pyramids and those in Egypt?

It is what is inside.

The pyramids in Egypt are a lot bigger.

These would go up to 40 metres, but then again the numbers

of the pyramids themselves makes the difference.

There are about 220 pyramids here which is a lot more

than the entire country of Egypt, like the pyramids there.

Just in this desert?

Just on this desert alone.

You can just see them for kind of miles, can't you?

Exactly.

It was coming to the end of an unexpected and surprising trip.

I had seen a side of Sudan that I never thought I would.

The history and stories Sudan holds are things you don't

hear about too often.

But when you see them for yourself it is something

you will remember for ever.

Next up on The Travel Show we are in Cuba's capital Havana,

meeting the chef who has set up a restaurant in his flat

at the top of a tower block.

Still to come on this week's Travel Show:

I join a dance-off

with a difference in Peru's capital, Lima.

So don't go away.

The Travel Show, your essential guide wherever you are heading.

Hello, I'm Michelle Chan, your global guide with top tips

on the world's best events in the coming months.

Starting in England, Hull is the UK City of Culture this year.

A 365-day event which kicks off with fireworks and light

projections downtown.

There'll be art installations across the city, as well as poetry

readings, rock gigs and photography exhibitions.

The city will be hosting the Turner Prize, the renowned

annual arts award at the Farrons Gallery,

as well as concerts and performances throughout the year.

The Social Festival, usually a very British affair,

is taking its house and techno to Mexico and Colombia this year,

playing on March 17th and 18th in both nations' capitals.

It might be even noisier in Gadmen, Switzerland, over the weekend

of February 25th and 26th at the International

Dog Sledding Race.

There'll be more than 100 teams and at a slower pace there will be

dog sled rides for kids while spectators wait

for the winning team to arrive.

Staying in the snow in the Austrian Tyrol,

the lifts close to ordinary skiers to make way for the cult ski race

White Thrill which takes place in Saint Anton Am Arlberg.

On April the 22nd over 500 skiers, and snowboarders gather

on the Beluga Ridge for a mass start, perhaps the most intimidating

challenge of the well named Payne Mountain.

The record is eight minutes and 14 seconds.

The Cypriots port of Paphos becomes the European City

of Culture this year.

a mix of Arab and eastern music, and later in the year the Berlin

Philharmonic is performing.

Venues are all outdoors, open air concerts, cinema

screenings are on beaches and there are outdoor exhibitions.

In the Czech Republic, the Shockproof Film Festival

plays on February 28th through March the 5th.

From the capital Prague to Brno, this alternative Festival touts

itself as lowbrow and in bad taste,

from the ludicrous and bizarre to camp and controversial.

Back in Colombia the Vallenato Festival place

from April 6th to the 30th.

Coming together will be the best composers of this genre of music.

Judges are on the hunt for the best drummers,

lyricists and singers, but it is really the accordion

players who steal the show.

The winner is crowned Rey Vallenato, and every ten years,

and this year is one of those, a decade of winners compete to be

anointed the King of Kings.

The Disposable Film Festival plays in San Francisco on April 7th-10th.

Here's a selection of some of the most innovative films shot

with the help of a 3-D printer or entirely on a smartphone.

There'll be workshops, panel discussions and competitions

showing quirky, online shorts and of course after parties.

Finally, it's time to dig out that feathered headdress.

Carnival is fast approaching.

Some of my favourite places include the cities of Salvador and Norlinda

in Brazil, which are arguably more authentic

destinations than Rio.

The party kicks off on February 23rd and in cooler climes, Cologne

in Germany begins its feasting and dancing at precisely

11:11am on February 23rd.

That's my global guide this month.

Let me know what's happening in the place where you live

or where you love.

We're on e-mail and across social media until next time.

Happy travelling.

And finally this week here in Lima I am off

to the outskirts of the city to find out about a 500-year-old tradition

that was once driven underground and is now enjoying something

of a revival.

Some people even say it could be the inspiration for break dancing.

It's called scissor dancing and I'm going to see

if I can make the cut.

The origin of the Peruvian scissor dance is shrouded in mystery.

But many believe the tradition began in the highlands of the Andes

as an act of worship to the mountain gods.

In the 1500s, the dance was performed to show resistance

to Spanish rule.

The movements display the performers' dexterity.

And the scissors represented their resistance to Spain.

But the conquistadors thought it was inspired

by the devil and it was banned.

Despite the ban, the traditions survived and the twisting,

turning dance moves were passed down from generation to generation.

Now its importance in Peru's history has been recognised by UNESCO.

And it's backbreaking moves would put many

break dancers to shame.

Although the scissors are not sharp, learning to control them

while dancing and leaping can take years.

Today teams from two different towns are having a scissor dance duel.

These battles can last for up to ten hours as the performers move

and spin to the music.

It seems like anything goes, but the one rule is that

you absolutely cannot drop the scissors.

And I'm going to get a lesson to see how it's done.

Don't shake hands with those.

So the top ones stay still and the bottom one...

Oh.

It's all in the thumb, the thumb and the wrist.

First I've got to get to grips with the scissors.

The aim is to hit the handles together in time to the music.

The blunt blades are not connected, so holding them

in position is really tricky.

There is no way I am going to be able to do this

and coordinate my feet.

And it's not just mastering the scissors.

This is the one that makes your knees bleed.

Learning the dance moves takes some serious commitment.

Does it hurt to do the jumps and land on your back?

Does it hurt your head and your knees?

Do you have injuries?

Is that blood on your trousers?

Wow, that's dedication.

Oh, and I'm getting a hat.

Gosh, as if it's not hard enough!

After a few minutes I'm exhausted.

I can't even imagine how hard it would be to do these moves up

in the Andes where the thin air makes everything so much harder.

These guys are true athletes.

It's hard work.

That was so much harder than I expected.

I've got new found respect for these guys.

But sadly that's all we have got time for in this week's show.

Coming up next week:

Somebody at the pub told me tonight

is supposed to be the coldest night of the year.

So I'm glad I'm going into an unheated church to sleep.

Krista's braving the English weather to find out why more

and more people are camping out in old churches.

Do join us for that if you can and don't forget

if you want to follow the rest of the Travel Show team

on their journeys in real-time, you can sign up to our

social media feeds.

All the details are on your screen now.

In the meantime from me, Carmen Roberts, and the rest

of the travel show team here in Lima, it's goodbye,

but let me leave you with some more scissor dancing.

No great dramas expected weatherwise through this weekend.

Certainly no cold weather in prospect.

A relatively mild weekend coming up and a lot of dry weather too.

Breezy at times, especially in northern areas, where the winds

have been lighter further south overnight.

A few fog patches around this morning, so take it steady