El-Obeid الأبيض | |
|---|---|
 Camels in El-Obeid (early 1960s) | |
.png)  El-Obeid Location in Sudan (North Kurdufan state highlighted) | |
| Coordinates:13°11′N30°13′E / 13.183°N 30.217°E /13.183; 30.217 | |
| Country |  Sudan |
| State | North Kordofan |
| Elevation | 609 m (1,998 ft) |
| Population (2025) | |
• Total | 560,471[1] |
| Time zone | GMT + 3 |
El-Obeid (Arabic:الأبيض,al-ʾAbyaḍ,lit. "the White"), alsoromanized asAl-Ubayyid, is thecapital of thestate ofNorth Kordofan, inSudan.
El-Obeid was founded by thepashas ofOttoman Egypt in 1821. It was attacked by theMahdists in September 1882, and, after capitulation, was subsequently destroyed in 1883. It was then rebuilt on a modern plan in 1898, following the fall of the Mahdist empire.[2]
In 2008, its population was 340,940. It is an important transportation hub: the terminus of arail line, the junction of various national roads andcamelcaravan routes, and the end of apilgrim route fromNigeria. As regional commercial centre, it is known for products such asgum arabic,millet, oilseeds, and livestock.[3]
The population of El-Obeid today is majority Muslim, with a small Christian presence. The town is the site of anairport and an oil refinery. El-Obeid is home to theUniversity of Kordofan, one of the largest universities inSudan, established in 1990.[4] Since 1989, the city also has been home to a French Association (Alliance française) that serves as a Sudanese-French cultural centre in cooperation with the university's French language department.[5]
TheUnited Nations Mission in Sudan established its Logistics Base there.[6]
Due to the repair and paving of asphalt roads and the emergence of several private bus companies, transport became easier between the town and the Sudanese capital Khartoum. The 500 kilometres (310 mi) journey takes about nine hours by tourist coach, and another three hours from El-Obeid toUm Kadada inDarfur.[7]
During theSudanese civil war, thecity has been under siege. In early September 2023, theSudanese Army recaptured the city. Tensions remain high at the grand market[8]
El-Obeid has ahot semi-desert climate (Köppen:BSh), bordering upon ahot desert climate (BWh), despite receiving over 400 millimetres or 16 inches of rain, owing to the extremely high potential evapotranspiration. Temperatures are coolest in December and January and are hottest from April to June. Awet season lasts from June to September with moderate rainfall and relatively high humidity. The period from November to April is almost completely dry, with very low humidity.[9]
| Climate data for El-Obeid (El Obeid Airport) (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1961–2020) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 40.5 (104.9) | 43 (109) | 44.5 (112.1) | 45.8 (114.4) | 45 (113) | 43.7 (110.7) | 41 (106) | 40 (104) | 40 (104) | 42.3 (108.1) | 40 (104) | 38 (100) | 45.8 (114.4) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 30.0 (86.0) | 32.7 (90.9) | 36.1 (97.0) | 39.1 (102.4) | 39.3 (102.7) | 37.7 (99.9) | 34.1 (93.4) | 32.3 (90.1) | 34.7 (94.5) | 36.8 (98.2) | 34.0 (93.2) | 30.9 (87.6) | 34.8 (94.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 21.8 (71.2) | 24.4 (75.9) | 27.8 (82.0) | 31.0 (87.8) | 32.0 (89.6) | 31.1 (88.0) | 28.6 (83.5) | 27.4 (81.3) | 28.5 (83.3) | 29.7 (85.5) | 26.4 (79.5) | 22.9 (73.2) | 27.6 (81.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 13.7 (56.7) | 16.1 (61.0) | 19.6 (67.3) | 22.9 (73.2) | 24.7 (76.5) | 24.5 (76.1) | 23.0 (73.4) | 22.5 (72.5) | 22.3 (72.1) | 22.6 (72.7) | 18.7 (65.7) | 14.9 (58.8) | 20.4 (68.7) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 4 (39) | 5 (41) | 9.7 (49.5) | 12.7 (54.9) | 16 (61) | 16 (61) | 11.5 (52.7) | 13.7 (56.7) | 14.9 (58.8) | 12.5 (54.5) | 8 (46) | 4.7 (40.5) | 4 (39) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 0.2 (0.01) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.1 (0.00) | 4.8 (0.19) | 17.2 (0.68) | 39.0 (1.54) | 122.2 (4.81) | 139.9 (5.51) | 59.9 (2.36) | 17.7 (0.70) | 0.2 (0.01) | 0.0 (0.0) | 401.2 (15.80) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 1.9 | 3.2 | 8.3 | 9.9 | 5.8 | 2.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 32 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 24 | 19 | 15 | 17 | 28 | 44 | 61 | 70 | 62 | 40 | 25 | 27 | 36 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 300.7 | 266.0 | 272.8 | 264.0 | 241.8 | 228.0 | 195.3 | 192.2 | 225.0 | 272.8 | 303.0 | 310.0 | 3,071.6 |
| Source:NOAA[9] | |||||||||||||
As of 2015, theSudanese Premier League teamAl-Hilal SC (Al-Ubayyid), led by Boushra Adam, plays in El-Obeid.
The town is predominantlyMuslim. However, it is also the seat of aRoman Catholic Diocese, which is the only other one in Sudan next to Khartoum since thepartition in 2011,[10] and of anAnglicanBishopric.[11]
The CatholicCathedral of Our Lady Queen of Africa in El-Obeid is considered to be one of the largest and oldest churches in Sudan.[12] It was founded in 1872 byDaniele Comboni, anItalianRoman Catholicbishop, who worked for theCatholic missions in Sudan between 1858 and his death in Khartoum in 1881. The present building was constructed between 1961 and 1964 in Italian style.[13]
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