A Recipe for that Khartoum Smell
One of the potentially overwhelming parts of international travel, for those of you that didn’t know already, is the weird smells in the atmospheres of strange places. Bangkok, as an example, is an indescribable mix of putrid trash, taxi fumes, and overcooked chilis.
Khartoum, though, is easier to describe, and I believe that if you wish to engage in this olfactory experience you can simply cook the following.
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.
Mix:
1 Pound red sand.
6 Tablespoons of motor oil.
3 Tablespoons of grimy, polluted, trash-filled water (preferably flowing down from Cairo).
Bake until you can clearly smell each ingredient when you open the oven door. Serve by sprinkling empty candy wrappers to taste and garnish with a sprig of savanna grass.
We have safely reached our destination in Khartoum, with travels that were as smooth as could possibly have been expected. Since our accommodations for most of this trip have come complete with wireless internet, stay tuned for more to come.
Thanks for your prayers.
***UPDATE***
As my sharp-eyed readers no doubt noticed, the Nile actually flows north from Khartoum into Cairo, not the other way around. This oversight was undoubtedly the result of yesterday’s travel stupor, and this morning’s cold shower caused me to come to my senses. The upshot of this upflow is that the Nile here is infinitely cleaner than the Nile there, but it still manages to add an air of putrescence to Khartoum’s olfactory ambiance.