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Sudan is the largest country in Africa by land area and the tenth largest in the world. It straddles two quite separate worlds: the turbulent middle-East and impoverished sub-Saharan Africa.
The north of the country is typified by a predominantly Muslim population, unified by a common belief in Islam, whilst the South brings together numerous tribal divisions, many at war with one another.
Centuries ago, when Arab traders first ventured into Sudan from Egypt and across the Red Sea, they encountered a dark-skinned native people quite unlike any they had seen previously. They called the territory 'bilad al-sudan', which means, literally, the 'land of the blacks'.
Sudan's ethnic diversity makes it a fascinating country to explore, with Arabs in the north and indigenous tribes populating the south. Unfortunately, it is this ethnic diversity that has also lead to many of the country's problems.
Since independence in 1956, the country has suffered many years of civil war. The first one lasted 17 years (from 1955 to 1972). The second one started in 1983, and only ended with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005. Officially, Khartoum is no longer at war with the south, but the peace remains a precarious one.
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