Delicious Sudanese cookies in Beirut (Photo: Emily O'Dell)
Last night, I was invited to join Sudanese friends and Sufis at a community gathering in Beirut. Since I’m currently teaching a course on the ancient history of Sudan, it was a delight to speak about Nubian pharaohs like Taharqa and Shabaka with my new friends from Sudan. The delicious cookies and sweet tea that they served added to the warm welcome.
“I think you’re starting to become Sudanese,” a kind man from north Sudan wearing a white turban joked. He had been teaching me phrases in the Arabic dialect of his hometown–and I seemed to be passing the test.
“But really,” he added, “at the end of the day, we’re all just human beings.”
