Khartoum

Khartoum is the capital of Sudan and the heart of Khartoum State, set where the Blue Nile and White Nile meet to form the main Nile. The city anchors a three-part conurbation with Omdurman to the west and Khartoum North, or Bahri, to the east, which gives it the nickname the Triangular Capital.

Founded as an Egyptian outpost in the early 1820s and rebuilt after the Mahdist era and Anglo-Egyptian reconquest of 1898, Khartoum grew into Sudan's political and commercial centre. Its landmarks range from the Presidential Palace and colonial-era Nile Avenue buildings to the Sudan National Museum, whose galleries and relocated temples sit near the Al-Mogran confluence.

Central Khartoum holds government offices, banks, universities and business hotels, while Omdurman is the older, more traditional counterpart with Souq Omdurman, the Khalifa House Museum and the Friday whirling dervishes at the Hamed al-Nil tomb. Khartoum North mixes workshops, markets and riverside residential areas.

After the conflict that began in April 2023, Khartoum entered a rebuilding phase when government institutions returned to the capital in 2025, and Khartoum International Airport resumed commercial flights in early 2026. Reconstruction, humanitarian work and diplomatic activity now shape much of daily life in the city.

For visitors, Khartoum offers a close view of Sudan's Nile heritage, museums and markets, and serves as a base for reaching sites such as the pyramids at Meroë and the Sabaloga Gorge. It remains Sudan's main hub for government, trade and development organisations, making it relevant for both cultural travellers and business visitors.