Khartoum’s Abandoned Buildings Return to Life through Photographs

“Sudanese Pictorial Photography” is one of many projects aimed at reviving buildings that reflect the old face of Sudan. (Asharq Al--Awsat)
“Sudanese Pictorial Photography” is one of many projects aimed at reviving buildings that reflect the old face of Sudan. (Asharq Al--Awsat)
TT
20

Khartoum’s Abandoned Buildings Return to Life through Photographs

“Sudanese Pictorial Photography” is one of many projects aimed at reviving buildings that reflect the old face of Sudan. (Asharq Al--Awsat)
“Sudanese Pictorial Photography” is one of many projects aimed at reviving buildings that reflect the old face of Sudan. (Asharq Al--Awsat)

“Sudanese Pictorial Photography” is one of many projects aimed at reviving buildings that reflect the old face of Sudan and documenting old, historic and abandoned buildings, and reintroducing them to the new generation.

“The initiative is fueled by our love for Sudan. The name was selected to reflect the targeted aim of the initiative, which is highlighting the country’s hidden gems and unknown beauties,” said Engineer Rim Hussein, the brain behind the idea.

Hussein believes that “these buildings have been subject to a silent abandonment, and are almost fading because of the popular and official neglect. So, we had to act and shed light on the history and heritage that a cracked wall in a building or an old banner could hide to keep them remain alive in people’s memory.”

About the work plan, Hussein said she photographs old buildings according to a certain vision that aims at connecting people to these buildings.

“The anecdotes my mother and father used to tell us about their youth, college days, where they worked, and the connection of places with Sudan’s social and political reality, drove a constant attention to details in me, and gave me an active, spatial memory,” she added.

“With time, I noticed the changing feature of our beloved country. Secret keepers, unfortunately, die or leave, so I had the idea of posing in photographs with these old building as background,” Hussein said in describing the beginning of her idea.

“My main motivation was feeling that these buildings or houses aren’t just deaf stones, but living objects that carry the philosophy of life and its aspects in past times and communities.”

She said her entire process started with documenting the post building in Khartoum. “I searched for a long time, and took information from my mom who was an employee at the post authority. The building is made from sandstone and inspired by the past century’s Victorian architecture.”

“Later, we documented some buildings in the Republic Street, in the center of Khartoum, including the Sahara Hotel, the Acropol, and Sudan Club,” she revealed, adding that the search for the last building took over two years to collect information, accessories and garments, assemble the photography team, and acquire permits.

The photography documentation wasn’t limited to old buildings and hotels, but also included some stores that were famous in the 1970s.

About her vision for the future, Hussein said: “I hope this experience would prompt a drive to turn these places and buildings into touristic landmarks given their spatial significance and historic dimensions.”



Bull Sharks Linger in Warming Sydney Waters

A man watches large waves on Bondi Beach in Sydney on July 2, 2025, as large swells and high winds hit the east coast of Australia. (Photo by SAEED KHAN / AFP)
A man watches large waves on Bondi Beach in Sydney on July 2, 2025, as large swells and high winds hit the east coast of Australia. (Photo by SAEED KHAN / AFP)
TT
20

Bull Sharks Linger in Warming Sydney Waters

A man watches large waves on Bondi Beach in Sydney on July 2, 2025, as large swells and high winds hit the east coast of Australia. (Photo by SAEED KHAN / AFP)
A man watches large waves on Bondi Beach in Sydney on July 2, 2025, as large swells and high winds hit the east coast of Australia. (Photo by SAEED KHAN / AFP)

Bull sharks are lingering off Sydney's beaches for longer periods each year as oceans warm, researchers said Friday, predicting they may one day stay all year.

The predators are migratory, swimming north in winter when Sydney's long-term ocean temperatures dip below 19 degrees Celsius (66 degrees Fahrenheit) to bask in the balmier waters off Queensland.

A team of scientists looked at 15 years of acoustic tracking of 92 tagged migratory sharks in an area including Bondi Beach and Sydney Harbour.

Records show the sharks now spend an average of 15 days longer off Sydney's coast in summer than they did in 2009, said James Cook University researcher Nicolas Lubitz.

"If they're staying longer, it means that people and prey animals have a longer window of overlap with them."

Shark attacks are rare in ocean-loving Australia, and most serious bites are from three species: bull sharks, great whites, and tiger sharks, according to a national database.

There have been more than 1,200 shark incidents around Australia since 1791, of which over 250 resulted in death.

Researchers found an average warming of 0.57C in Bondi for the October-May period between 2006 and 2024, said the study published in the peer-reviewed journal Science of The Total Environment.

Over a longer period, remotely sensed summer sea-surface temperatures in the area rose an average 0.67C between 1982 and 2024, they said.

"If this trend persists, which it likely will, it just means that these animals are going to spend more and more time towards their seasonal distributional limit, which currently is southern and central New South Wales," Lubitz said.

"So it could be that a few decades from now, maybe bull sharks are present year-round in waters off Sydney," he added.

"While the chances of a shark bite, and shark bites in Australia in general, remain low, it just means that people have to be more aware of an increased window of bull shark presence in coastal waters off Sydney."

Climate change could also change breeding patterns, Lubitz said, with early evidence indicating juvenile sharks were appearing in rivers further south.

There was some evidence as well that summer habitats for great whites, which prefer colder waters, were decreasing in northern New South Wales and Queensland, he said.

Tagged sharks trigger an alarm when they swim within range of a network of receivers dotted around parts of the Australian coast, giving people real-time warnings on a mobile app of their presence at key locations.