El Metemma

El Metemma stands on the western bank of the Nile opposite Shendi, at the end of a caravan route across the Bayuda Desert from Korti. The crossing shortened the long journey around the great bend of the river, bringing travellers to the lands of the Ja'ali rulers of Shendi. In 1822, after Egypt had invaded Sudan, the Ja'ali ruler Mek Nimr killed the Egyptian commander Ismail Pasha. The uprising spread along the Nile, but the Egyptian response was devastating. Troops burned parts of Metemma before crossing the river to sack Shendi, leaving a once prosperous riverine centre in ruins.