El-Gadarif القضارف | |
|---|---|
  El-Gadarif Location within Sudan | |
| Coordinates:14°02′N35°23′E / 14.033°N 35.383°E /14.033; 35.383 | |
| Country |  Sudan |
| Region | Eastern Sudan States Coordinating Council |
| State | Al Qadarif (state) |
| Elevation | 634 m (2,080 ft) |
| Population (2025) | |
• Total | 410,422[1] |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (CAT) |
El-Gadarif (Arabic:القضارفAl Qaḍārif), also speltGedaref orGedarif, is the capital of the state ofAl Qadarif inSudan. It lies on the road that connectsKhartoum withGallabat on theEthiopian border, about 410 kilometres (250 mi) from the capital.
El-Gadarif is surrounded by mountains on three sides. The city represents an excellent example of the intermingled ethnicities of centralSudan. Recently, a university has been established there. The main feature of the city is the grain silo built by the Russians to storesorghum. The town is famous for its dailysesame seed auctions.
The word Gedaref is derived from the Arabic phrase (Alli qada-Ye-rif) (Arabic القضا يرف), meaning 'He who has finished selling or buying should leave'. The phrase was later developed into 'Al-Gadarif'. The story of the name begins when Arab nomad tribes roaming theButana plains in East-centralSudan chose the place where the city is built as amarket place calledSuq Abu Sinn (the Market of Abu Sinn), where the nomads exchanged their commercial commodities with theindigenous people. When the sun set, a herald used to call 'AIli Qada-ye-rif ... Alli qada-ye-rif', asking every one who had finished his dealing in the market to leave so that the market could be closed on time.
Another theory is that the town was named for the range of hills surrounding the area which looks likecartilage. Yet there is confusion in the spelling of the word inArabic, because "cartilage" in Arabic is written as Ghadarif (Arabic غضارف) not Qadarif (Arabic قضارف), the spelling of the town name.[2][3]
Al-Gada-ye-rifmarket place developed into a village; then into a town with its dwellers cultivating its fertile soil withsorghum,sesame,peanuts and vegetables. Its green plains during the rainy seasons attracted manynomad herds and peasants from neighbouring areas.
According to Holt and Daly, theShukriya, who were camel-owning nomads and the leading tribe of the southernButana, were living and ruling the grain-producing rain lands of Gadarif or Qadarif, where a tribal market developed. This place, originally calledSuq Abu Sinn (Abu Sinn's Market) took the name Qadarif, anglicized as Gedaref.
The Scottish explorerJames Bruce (who called the townTeawa) passed through al Qadarif in 1772. He recorded that itssheikh, Fidele, was a vassal of theKingdom of Sennar. Today, Teawa or Twawa is the name of a hill in the western part of the city. The British explorerSamuel Baker stopped in this town in November 1862. He mentioned in his bookThe Nile Tributaries Of Abyssinia that it lay on the trade route betweenKhartoum andKassala, and described at length its twice-weekly market.
During theTurkiyah (Egyptian rule), Gedaref became an administrative unit with a strong militarygarrison. TheMahdist forces preserved this status when they occupied the town in 1884 during theMahdist Revolt, using it as a base to conquer other places in the area and in neighbouringEthiopia.
SirGawain Bell, who worked in theSudan in 1931 to 1945 as Assistant Inspector for Gedaref, referred to Gedaref in his book(Shadows on the sand), as a town with more African appearance thanArab, because of itshut houses (locally called quttiyya) made of wood, reeds and grass. Its population was more than fifteen thousand, a mixture ofArab tribes and peoples fromNigeria,Eritrea andAbyssinia.[4]
In September 1898 a Britishbattalion led byLieutenant-Colonel Parsons moved fromKassala toward Gedaref and clashed with a MahdistDervishes army composed of 3,500 men under the command of the MahdistEmir Sa'ad-Allah in a jungle located between theRiver Atbara and Gedaref town. The fighting was fierce, but the forces of Parsons managed finally to defeat the Mahdist Dervishes.[5] In the town a smallgarrison was left consisting of 200 soldiers led by theMahdi EmirNur Angara. The Mahdist Dervishes who fought bravely realized their defeat and retreated to the west of the city. Most of the defeated army was composed of soldiers from theDarfur andKordofan regions of westernSudan. They had no choice except to settle theirstatus with the British to stay and live with their families in the western part of Gedaref, which later became the basis of the Mayoral Bakr, whose influence extends to the frontier town ofGallabat on the Sudanese-Ethiopian border.[6]
During the Second World War, Gedaref became very important for theCondominium ofAnglo-Egyptian Sudan, by providing food (mainlygrain andoil seeds) to the armies of theAllies in East Africa. After the war the town became also more attractive for agriculturalinvestment to many segments of Sudanese tribes, especially after the establishment of theMechanized Farming Corporation in 1968.[7][8][9]
The geographical feature of the city is marked by a group of hills surrounding it and small khors (tiny dry valley creeks). The largest is called Khor Maqadim, which runs from the southeast part of the city between Deim El Nur and Deim Suakin districts to the northwestern part of the city in Deim Bakr District. Its course overflows during the fall season, when heavy rain falls in the highland areas along the Ethiopian border.
The climate of Gedaref is hot and rainy in the summer. The rainy season extends four months, with an average of annual rainfall of 700 to 900 mm. In the autumn during the rainy seasons, or Kharief (Arabic الخريف) as it is locally called, large pools of water and green meadows with trees of various kinds ofacacia cover the area. The early advent of theflamingo flock, or the Simber (Arabic السمبر) as it is locally called, gives the sign of the beginning of the Kharif.
El-Gadarif has ahot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classificationBSh), characterized by hot temperatures and distinct wet and dry seasons. The period from March to May is particularly hot, with high temperatures routinely exceeding 40 °C (104 °F). Thewet season occurs mainly from June to September. The months from October to May constitute thedry season, with minimal or no precipitation from November to March.[10]
| Climate data for El-Gadarif (1991–2020) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 41.5 (106.7) | 44.2 (111.6) | 46.2 (115.2) | 47.5 (117.5) | 46.5 (115.7) | 47.0 (116.6) | 42.5 (108.5) | 39.9 (103.8) | 40.3 (104.5) | 41.6 (106.9) | 41.5 (106.7) | 40.7 (105.3) | 47.5 (117.5) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 35.2 (95.4) | 37.6 (99.7) | 40.1 (104.2) | 42.3 (108.1) | 41.4 (106.5) | 38.5 (101.3) | 34.3 (93.7) | 32.6 (90.7) | 34.5 (94.1) | 37.0 (98.6) | 37.7 (99.9) | 36.0 (96.8) | 37.3 (99.1) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 26.6 (79.9) | 28.6 (83.5) | 31.2 (88.2) | 33.8 (92.8) | 33.8 (92.8) | 31.3 (88.3) | 28.3 (82.9) | 27.1 (80.8) | 28.4 (83.1) | 30.0 (86.0) | 29.9 (85.8) | 27.7 (81.9) | 29.7 (85.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 17.9 (64.2) | 19.6 (67.3) | 22.2 (72.0) | 25.4 (77.7) | 26.2 (79.2) | 24.1 (75.4) | 22.3 (72.1) | 21.6 (70.9) | 22.3 (72.1) | 23.0 (73.4) | 22.1 (71.8) | 19.5 (67.1) | 22.2 (72.0) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 9.2 (48.6) | 7.6 (45.7) | 12.2 (54.0) | 13.2 (55.8) | 18.0 (64.4) | 17.7 (63.9) | 17.0 (62.6) | 17.0 (62.6) | 16.7 (62.1) | 17.0 (62.6) | 13.5 (56.3) | 8.9 (48.0) | 7.6 (45.7) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 1.9 (0.07) | 6.5 (0.26) | 32.5 (1.28) | 71.7 (2.82) | 172.9 (6.81) | 218.9 (8.62) | 88.2 (3.47) | 25.7 (1.01) | 0.4 (0.02) | 0.0 (0.0) | 618.6 (24.35) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 4.1 | 7.1 | 11.9 | 13.8 | 7.1 | 3.3 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 48.8 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 33 | 27 | 22 | 22 | 34 | 49 | 65 | 72 | 66 | 52 | 33 | 34 | 42 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 291.4 | 263.2 | 291.4 | 291.0 | 285.2 | 267.0 | 232.5 | 229.4 | 255.0 | 269.7 | 273.0 | 288.3 | 3,237.1 |
| Source:NOAA[10] | |||||||||||||
The city is administratively and socially divided into Diems (ديم) or districts. The famous Deims are Deim Bakr, Deim El Nur, Diem Al Khama, Abakar Jibriel, Al- midan, Deim Abbas, Deim Saukin, Deim Sa'ad, Deim Hamad, Janayin, Abbayo, Nasr, Selamt El-Bey, Al Israa, Al Malik, A Nadher, Al Tadamun, Al Danagla, Al Jumhouriya, Al Mufaqaat, Al Syool, Al Mourada, Barnu, Badr, Marco, Al Rabaa, Ruwina, Addona, Taradona, Karfis, Al Kababish, Karrari, Al Mahrouga, Al Sufi, Al Muwazafien, Army Barracks and Police Barracks.
Greater Gedaref includes many rural districts and villages such as Um Shagara, Al- Faw, Wad addida, Sabouniya, Koum Shitta, Um sawani, Um Sunaebra, Id Altin, Kassab, Al Samina, Shasheina, Al Hwata, Al Houri, AlMatna, and Al Shuwak.
In 1994 Gedaref became thecapital of Al-Qadarif State which includes Gedaref city, Faw,Gallabat, and Fashaga areas.
Gedaref is a trade centre forcotton,cereals,sesame seeds, and fodder produced in the surrounding areas, and it is a well-known agriculture area where amechanized farming scheme has been introduced since 1954. About 70% of the total mechanized farming in theSudan is carried out in Gedaref. The aim of the mechanized farming is to develop the areas socially and economically. Many large and endless individual fields grew suddenly and have scattered over the whole area surrounding Gedarif such as Um-seinat, Al-Ghadambliya, making use of the fertile soil and abundant rainfall (avg. 700 to 900 mm/year), and relatively obtainable manpower.
TheRiver Gash Irrigation Scheme is located to the northeast of Al-Qaḍārif, while theRahad Scheme and the famousGezira Scheme lie to the west.[11] With the cultivation ofsesame seed,sunflower,cotton,peanuts andcereals, especiallysorghum, Gedaref has become the country'sgranary. Thus, if Sudan could be thegranary of Africa and the Middle East, Gedaref is thebreadbasket of the Sudan.
Light industries in the city include cotton ginning and spinning mills and soap factories.
The city is served by astation on thenational railway network. It is linked with the capitalKhartoum viaWad Medani city by a net of roads, railway, airway, and seasonal direct roads. It is also linked toPort Sudan city with roads andrailway throughKassala at a distance of about 200 km. There are also roads to theGallabat at the edge of the boundary with Ethiopia connecting Gedarif with the Ethiopian city ofGonder, and from there to the Ethiopian capitalAddis Abeba. The city has also an airport calledAzaza Airport (IATA:GSU,ICAO:HSGF).[12]
The Gedaref State Broadcasting was established in 1995 with a frequency of 1485 kHz. A television station was followed in 1996 with a range of 50 km.
Gedaref is distinguished also by itsdigital city, directed by theGedaref Digital City Organization (GDCO) which is anon-governmental and non-profit organization, founded in 2005 in partnership between Gedaref city andEindhoven community in the Netherlands. The initiative was taken by Dr.Agnes Ovington ofEindhovenMunicipality, Gedaref Public Organization for Water and Development. GDCO, is part of theTelecentres Movement whereICT is used for community development. It won many international awards. It is the winner of information for development awardi4d 2007 (e-India 2007) for the inclusion of thedisabled, the winner ofi4d 2008 awards for the best innovations at the grassroots Telecentres, and the winner ofi4d 2009 for the initiatives ofcivil society for development (e-Agriculture project and other e-services).[13]
The population of the city is mainlyArab orNuba Sudanese. It includes the indigenousBeja people. The total population is 269,395 (as of 2008).
Inhabitants origins in Gedaref have rapidly changed during the last decades. Dwellers who belong to various nationalities had settled in the area along with theindigenous people. Today the mosaic of population includes many Sudanese tribes from different regions as far asDar Fur,Kordofan, southern and northernSudan. Tribes likeShaigiya,Baggara,Dinka,Fur,Nuba,Masalit,Shukriya,Beja,Hausa people,Songhay people and many other Sudanese tribes are represented in Gedaref. No other city in theSudan, with exception ofKhartoum andPort Sudan has so many dwellers of Foreign origin among its population, as Gedaref.Kurds,Armenians,Panian of India,Greeks, EgyptianCopts,Ethiopians, Eritrean,Somalis,Chadians, Yemenis, Italians has been Sudanized since generations and well integrated in the Gedaref community. The main reason for this gathering of foreign and local groups of people in Gedaref can be attributed to the Agricultural boom that swept the city and turned it to a major centre of trade in the area.
Education in Gedaref has been far developed in the last decades. The city counts about 73 schools of different levels. With the establishment ofAl Qadarif University the city has accomplished its dream to become an educationshrine for the whole area of southeastSudan.Boarding schools has been established in the city as early as the 1960s to accommodate young villagers and rural areas youth.[14]
Among the famous children of the city areRashid Bakr (formerVice President 1983) andAhmed Al Jabri (singer).
There are seven hotels.
Gedaref istwinned with:
Eindhoven, the Netherlands, and
Konya, Turkey.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
