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WRECKS AT THE END OF THE WORLD

In Cruceros Australis Patagonia, the Chilean-Argentine company that traces the legendary route to Cape Horn, including glaciers, penguins strutting and untamed Indians.

impossible not to notice. For many meters, the wall of a box-fish screaming their anger through the gunfire on the run from the center of Punta Arenas. Penguins reduced to grotesque shirts and hats with the word "Fin del mundo" are not exactly the reception that one might expect in the wounded heart of Patagonia. Not at all. Shoot straight, eager for a stranded wreck or some lost relic that you speak to them that the epic was, in that golden age - at the turn of last century - in which the Braun Menéndez and controlled the entire commercial traffic between Atlatico and the Pacific. Size of a familiar face from Chile and pleasantly similar to that of Europe sovereign of the oceans, or even more than that of the United States, ready to take over.

Yankee was the fact that hand, in 1914, cut the Isthmus of Panama, causing fatal bleeding just to the rich families of Punta Arenas. In a time when the foundations of the West waver dangerously contrived, a bit 'of sadistic voyeurism does not hurt for sure. Face up to its end, here, where America itself in the end, to crumble in a matter of unforgiving islands swept by winds and waves roaring, still offers the pleasure of being masters of the last wreck coming .

THE RETURN OF THE NATIVE

" Libertad a los presos politicos Mapuche! . They have the large letters written on the walls left by the natives of the South, still believe they can capture in this way, passing strangers. Chatwin but their eyes made even more deaf ears. After the release of his bestseller "In Patagonia", which inoculated over thirty years ago in the more affluent tourists hankering for travelers maudit , southern Chile and Argentina has become a conquered people for what ever bizarre : by friends of the riders extreme milodonte Eco Challenge Expedition to reach the Yatra and its mystics who celebrate the "great awakening world" in my pajamas. A perfect backdrop for an exotic treat paranoia of modernity, without which these lands are able to have a voice, and can never escape it once the anesthetic effects of the myth.

The Bible wanted them inhabited by beings upside down, Pigafetta described the populated clumsy giants, to the vagrant Paul Theroux has never been more than "a howling wilderness," magic little word that can eradicate the root of any problem, but is not the vacuum of space, since the disappearance of evidence to fuel the dismay that the imagination fictitious idea impostasi popular.

Besides the lavish neoclassical buildings that dominate the square Hernando de Magallanas, the streets of Punta Arenas is a continuous succession of glossy postcards: an invitation to visit Fuerte Bulnes where there is still the square of logs to the garrison defended the most extreme of the "conquistadores " Chileans, and give directions to the cemetery, to the pompous mausoleums of the ubiquitous and Braun Menéndez incassino yet another applause, or collect cunning with the verses of the poet José Grimaldi.

it serves a good dose of honey to remember the shepherds of the broken back, as the estates of large landowners families still mingle their blood with sweat. Suffice it to say that in the territories of Argentina Patagonia Benetton are the owners of the nearly one million hectares, on which the sheep are free to tend to contribute to the profits of United Colours, while the indigenous dispossessed are forced in the precincts of the reserves.

no surprise if the monument to Perro Ovejero , who stubbornly Avenida Bulnes guide his flock against one of the usual and unpredictable storms, once again can not complain about their wage demands. Again, no word of his face patched up dream, when gauchos , bandoleros and anarchists on both sides beyond the Andes dared to speak out against the governments of the privilege. Beaten, humiliated and massacred, had to dig their own grave with their hands, before the Colonel Varela, a sad day in 1923, took a shot even the stars.

Sing. Sing, José Grimaldi. "... Always Floch, desgrenado y little thing ... "- sings the Patagonia that no one wants to see or hear, Patagonia rebelde Osvaldo Bayer, the grim opposite of Siberia -" fortunes countryside areas should not take this to the pampas magellanica desnuda .... " There's always time to lay some velvety petals on the grave of the small indigenous nameless, hoping to make a new miracle, and who knows, even the shameful stain gates of the "free" market. But it is not compassion that will save the souls of those poor devils.

ECOSYSTEMS TO PROTECT

"No. We do not care that people do visit the museum Salesian, if he comes out with his face entirely surprised, feeling more than a sense of anger over the disappearance of Yamana , the Selk'nam or Hausch . Tamara uses harsh words, but its forms are soft. His features sweet. One hundred years ago would have challenged a gun. Now content with to run his pharmacy of medicinal herbs and occasionally right, hoist the color of the flag of the Mapuche . "We are not specimens to be kept under the window, but a living people who struggle to defend their cultural identity and regaining lands sottratteci by force, fraud and abuse. Given the disappearance of the other natives, it would take someone dressed up in traditional dress and always ready to stage dances or songs to please the tourists, but we ask simply listening. We do not "performances" of folklore, because folklore same is our expression of unity and attachment to the roots. Respect a culture means to protect the environment, and uses the language in which it has developed over the centuries, while today it is drawing out the game when it brings only good indigenous money in the pockets of speculators. "

Fortunately, there are also really like Cruceros Australis, which was able to make an instrument of cruises in Patagonia meticulous knowledge of the area, integrating its output in an inflatable boat with lessons on erosion of the moraine Pia Glacier or the raids of the Beavers against notofagi forests. Forte's three flagships from 150 to 300 passengers, the Chilean-Argentine company manages to cover security the entire route from Punta Arenas to Ushuaia, going up the Strait of Magellan and the Beagle Channel up to the foothills of the legendary Cape Hoorn.

not having more to fear from the natives and harpoons greedy poachers, Magellanic penguins and elephant seals have returned so the only masters of the outcrops that make up the archipelago Tierra del Fuego: the Bay of Ainsworth, as well as on the islands Tuckers, can even afford to make advantageous agreements with all those strange visitors ready to promise them fame and glossy covers. A glance at the news of the "El Pinguino" to enjoy the hottest gossip: who is disguising the fat rolls on his belly overflowing, who is scratching viciously stealthily, who still bickering for the awkward dives of others, always stealing the limelight is not the fiery plumage of a cormorant imperial or appetite of a carnivorous plant sundew .

On the other hand, the threat of oil tankers and drilling rigs dell'Enap Magallanes, which each year draws to Patagonia more than three million tonnes of gas, appear distant in the eyes of this animal so busy and the deadly scents, especially now that local governments seek to compensate for the generous mining concessions with the opening of national parks 'buffer' along the coast or inland.

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE

"We have not had any kind of state funding to establish the path Yamana on the island of Navarino - sorry observes Mauricio Alvarez, expedition leader of the ship Stella Australis. "Obviously, projects that do not generate direct economic benefits play less interesting than others, although the island's cultural heritage is unique.

Contributed by Cruceros Australis, University and the Region of Santiago, we were not able to bring light on old paths Yamana , identifying some residential sites near Puerto Williams. By virtue of these discoveries, but also thanks to the rich photographic documentation of the original Italian explorer Alberto De Agostini, has since started the reconstruction of some specimens of the typical huts akharh , including what was the actual use of the berries of Calafate or plants Romerillo growing on the spot. Slowly, bay Wulaia has so taken hold a small museum in the old radio station of the Chilean army, in which we can now see the latest examples of canoes Yamana hunting, leather accessories of guanaco, as well as decorated sticks that mark the initiation ceremonies youth shiehaus and kina .

's a race against time. If the 84 year old Cristina Calderon still enjoys good health, within a generation, Tierra del Fuego may disappear even see the last half-breeds can speak the original language of the natives. Unlike Mapuche , organized in large stable communities and therefore better able to defend themselves from white settlers, the nomadic fueghine counted few units scattered in constant struggle with the harshness of the Antarctic climate: without the arrival of missionaries in the late nineteenth century, Marcos Marino would hardly know their grandparents .

"In 33 years I can say lucky. I work as a helper on board ships Cruceros Australis, I have two children and are free to educate them according to the culture of my ancestors. We are no longer thoroughbred Yamana , but this is not what matters: a people we recognize the language they speak, by the same beliefs, traditions transmitted. The obsession with the genetic purity is the stuff of farmers. No doubt the death of my grandmother's sister, Ursula, was a grave loss to those who saw in her the last of a rare species, but it would be absurd to reduce the spirit of Yamana to an issue of blood. Thanks to his obstinacy, I and about twenty other people talk about the new language of their ancestors, we have a concession for 30% of the lands of Navarino and we are ready to take back our place in history. "

untameable fire

Ursula Grandma would be proud. Just like all those stiff-legged rowers fading picture of the museum "Fin del Mundo in Ushuaia. Constraints on the corner by the remains of the great explorations of Drake and Fitzroy, overshadowed by memories of Darwin's evolutionary, for too long have been seen stealing the limelight from exposure stuffed seal from aluminum plates that belonged to the gold diggers, if not the notorious criminals who populated the prison in a radial pattern of the city in Argentina. Poets, anarchists and thugs who ended his days behind bars on the left prison in which the cruise ending today in Patagonia.

They called Yamana. Selk'nam. Hausch. Alacaluf . Today we look at the prints with wide eyes. Trembling in their thick skins guanaco. The long black hair and liscissimi. A child's arm, spear in hand.

so faded by time, you realize that not even most of their deathly pallor, the dismay felt in the face of insults that priests vomited on them. Still do not understand the anger contempt for their nakedness. Suffocate, while their guardians from the long hands insist on buttoning the collar Victorians. Yet a spark shines sideways.

They wanted a land of ashes. They found the Tierra del Fuego.

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Annabel Chong And Houston

WRECKS AT THE END OF THE WORLD / 2

TRAVELING WITH AUSTRALIS Cruceros

Cruceros Australis ( www.australis.com ) is fifteen years one of the cruise lines from which to explore the Patagonian territories, since it offers the opportunity to navigate along the route (including reverse) Punta Arenas (Chile) - Ushuaia (Argentina), or just the area around Punta Arenas. The proposed packages, available from September to April, expect 3 to 4 nights on board, with rates varying between 840 and U.S. $ 1,120. Of the three ships in service, the latest is Stella Australis (2010), flagship with 210 seats spread over 100 cabins (all with sea views). Its five decks are equipped with any comfort, from the public rooms for reading to a small gym to keep fit in between a landing and the other boat, not to mention the excellent piano bar for drinks all-inclusive . Top-level cuisine (buffet for breakfast and lunch, à la carte the evening), which offers dishes of traditional Chilean-Argentine, without leaving some European specialties.

The most qualifying but confirms the commitment of the company on the environmental front and science: thanks to agreements with the CONAFI (Corporacion Nacional Forestal) and ceque (Centro de estudios de Cuaternario of Guego Antertica-Patagonia y), it is load of shares of maintenance and conservation of all the places visited (Alberto De Agostini National Park, Cabo de Hornos National Park and Natural Monument Los Pinguinos), as well as a precise documentation on the studies glaceologici, flora and fauna and anthropology of the region. The decision to not mass tourism, like the measures taken to prevent environmental pollution and disruption of the sites visited, are now Cruceros Australis's an excellent example of environmental sustainability.

THE CONQUEST OF CAPE HORN

No flag, but a certificate does. If Cape Horn is now firmly in the hands of the cabinet and Chile for a while 'for years are just the colors to soar on the flagpole in front of the lighthouse to the south of the world, today's travelers may try again the thrill of conquest. Who manages to reach the summit of the islet has a way to purchase a card with appropriate postage (nominal fee of one euro), if not an actual certificate with a dedication, by which witness the epic undertaking. In some cases you can also get an official stamp on the passport. Attentions have turned to the Head - spotted for the first time January 24, 1616 by the Dutch ship Hoorn - a legendary destination not only for captains and seafarers, but also for extreme collectors.

Although many companies cruise to the island to reach about 55 degrees south latitude and 67 west longitude, the landing is never granted (which is why every company chose to issue its own certificate): Time is almost always turbulent, with very strong currents and winds reach 100 km / h in touch. Not surprisingly, the Cape is known as the largest graveyard of ships in the world (there are more than 800 shipwrecks and over 10 thousand victims at the turn of the sixteenth and the twentieth century), nor should we underestimate the speed with which organizers handle the landing operations in an inflatable boat. A few minutes delay could be fatal. That is why, at the top of the rock, the Cofradia de los del Cabo de Hornos Capitanes has decided to open December 5, 1992 a monument to remember all the fallen sailors. Carved at the foot of albatross, the bird is also found in the logo of the French which were originally collected under the captains of merchant intrepid (International Association of Cape Horners, 1937), echoing the beautiful verses of the poetess Sara Vial: "I the albatross that awaits you at the end of the Earth. They are the forgotten souls of the missing sailors, and sailed around Cape Horn from any sea in the world. They are not dead but in the fury of the waves: now fly on my wings to eternity, the last slot of the twenty Antarctic .

THE INVISIBLE PEOPLE

They are everywhere, yet nobody sees them. Or rather, no one wants to see them. From the local governors cornered by their claims, to tourists who are often lured by those who exploit the name and image. The Mapuche are an the last South American indigenous peoples, as well as having always been an awkward one for the white settlers (the Araucania and Patagonia territories occupied by them remained independent until 1833), have managed to keep their traditions alive and make them one of the elements 'interest the most fascinating trips in Chile and Argentina. Despite the ongoing struggle against speculation on their expropriated lands, against the corporations hungry for energy resources and fertile land, as against a police crackdown on anti-terror measures criminals (well documented on the official periodical of the country Mapuche www. azkintuwe.org ), are significant contributions to the preservation of their culture.

Almost all the kits sold in Patagonia are in fact ceramic matrix Mapuche , from pipe Kitra (used to burn incense during religious ceremonies), the pots challas and pitchers metawe or pitren (from anthropomorphic and zoomorphic features, as also home ritual). Are then refined jewelry, almost always silver and mostly composed of chips or bells to ward off negative spirits, as well as textiles, testimonial has long been a fascinating model Mapuche Ximena Huilipàn . Great success are finally meeting with traditional remedies in herbal medicines sold in special herbolerias Mapuche , as well as new forms of artistic expression and poetic urban music (the so-called movement warriache ). Who then had the good fortune to see a performance of Pailin (sort of hockey indigenous to settle disputes policies) or a true propitiatory ceremony in costume (for example, the festival Winoy Tripantu in June), where s'inscena rheas dancing and playing the drum kultrun could really understand why the Mapuche themselves "People of the Earth Mother."

PATAGONIA IN BRIEF

Divided between Chile and Argentina, Patagonia is a land of giants, not only for the name he bears, but also because of its same size. Magellan named it thus because of the huge population that lived on his arrival in 1520, while looking for a more comfortable route to guide him to the Spice Islands: it seems that even then the meter would reach Selk'nam and eighty high, and fifty-five against the yardstick of the Iberian peninsula, and therefore resemble the comic character "Patagonia" by Francisco Vazquez described in the "Tale of a knight-errant." Now occupies an area of \u200b\u200babout 900 thousand kilometers, so that to encompass the entire southern cone of South America, presenting a rather low population density (740mila one million inhabitants, or 21.2 per sq km). Steppe plains alternate with huge expanses of vegetation, pebble-free, while the high rainfall in the western Andes contributes to the maintenance of the largest glaciers outside of Antarctica. However, temperatures vary from 25 degrees in summer (which corresponds to our winter) to minus 2 in winter.

HOSPITALITY '

Who should take part in one of the expeditions offered by Cruceros Australis will almost certainly be assigned to the two hotels of reference of the company.

A Punta Arenas is a must as the hotel Cabo de Hornos ( www.hoteles-australis.com ), a historical building of the 60 built by Sociedad Ganadera Tierra del Fuego and hosted on the central Plaza Munoz Gamero. Those who leave or land instead to Ushuaia will be referred to the recent hotel Fueguino ( www.fueguinohotel.com ), a modern four star design hotel is conveniently located behind the main street, Avenida San or Martin.

As for local cuisine, the king crab often contends the record with the Patagonian lamb, along with the black cod, trout and seafood on the size exaggerated. Just take a look at the popular market of Punta Arenas, the newly renovated building where there are numerous cafes, restaurants or try historians Sototios and La Tasca. Alternatively, to Ushuaia you can follow the advice of Fuegolento ( www.ushuaiaafuegolento.com.ar ).

any suggestions

A trip to Patagonia, with its deep silences and endless sunsets, it takes much more pleasure in the company of good books. If "In Patagonia" by Bruce Chatwin is a must, despite his vision a bit 'and neo-aesthetic, for an alternative look to the region it is worth spending a little' time in four texts most recent published in Italy only 2010, since the 70s "Patagonia Rebelde" was a forbidden book, due to the harsh reconstruction on the historical struggles of immigrants described by Osvaldo Bayer. There is also a great reduction cinematogratica Héctor Olivera, awarded the Silver Bear in Berlin in 1974, now competing with the other landmark of cinema Patagonia: Geronima , played by the Mapuche Luisa Calcumil in 1985. More current is instead the work of Leslie Ray dedicated to the people of the Mapuche, "The tongue of the earth," and the curious "cannibals, giants and savage. Monsters of the New World, "written by Paolo Vignolo, is an excellent example to better frame what was the European imagination at the dawn of the great journeys scanner. Who is at ease with English, can finally dive nell'interessantissimo "The Indians of Tierra del Fuego, an account of Samuel Kirkland Lothrop on the indigenous inhabitants in 1928 (purchased on www.patagoniashop.net ). For lovers of ethnic music, then the album stand out Plata (2000), the Argentine Mapuche singer Beatriz Pichi Malenm and Feley (2004), collaboration with rock group Superpatria with the Mapuche community organization on October 11.

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THE LONG MARCH OF THE GLACIER EXPRESS

St. Moritz is a city with two faces. Appears bright, trendy, sometimes aristocratic. Vedette high society since 1864 invariably fails to fascinate anyone who is close to its skiing or luxury shopping center, but because this tends to remove from the sight of his most intimate feelings and genuine. Use the artifice and cosmopolitanism as a tool of defense, real label to honor the title of capital of the Alpine winter tourism. So did the Bernina Express Railway herald his most faithful, the extraordinary entertainer can transform a point in the Engadine arrival, instead of discovering the authenticity of Switzerland.

Yet behind the city opens up a world of enchantment that comes from Tirano railway leaves the ambiguous taste with a bite of satiety mind-numbing. The vertigo of the viaduct Brusio, the retreat of the glaciers of colossal Morteratsch, the geological oddities in the muffler plasmatesi Giants Cavaglia: i could do 61 km from the Italian border to the capital Engadine to satisfy the thirst of surprise for each visitor.
If, however, UNESCO has decided to place under safeguards the entire path traversed on the Albula, Appendices of the German-speaking Switzerland, a reason to go further we must necessarily, and this is called the Glacier Express, the train twin of the much more popular Kleine Rote.

Filisur Already, the first stage of the direct route to Zermatt, one intuits that the railway is slowly sending in a superhuman territory: here was in fact found the only copy of reticodattilo, a reptile of the Upper Triassic with such monstrous crest on the nose and jaw sharp tusks, before they take effect the new theories about the "lost world" described by Conan Doyle. A little further it is then suspended on the wide arch of the viaduct Landwasser, as if heaven and earth are now only linked by this single step.

In fact, the rugged gorge Schyn was well fortified with towers and castles, which rivals the puissance verticalizations Graubünden and conveys the same sense of security that releases pressure from the wagons.

Ambition. Titanic challenge. Longing to the peaks. The Glacier Express advances with the unflappable belief that they can break all limits, the son of a generation now far away, votatasi heart and soul to the positivism of reason, yet aware of the drama of Fall: The line dates back to the contradictory period between 1890 and 1930, when a group of pioneers dared to bend the stubbornness of the mountain to the yoke of technology, using the ingenious combination of hairpin tunnels, viaducts and rack systems. No coincidence that some sections of the railway reaching a gradient of 12.5%, then such as to nullify any claim of compliance.

Nestled in the valley, the abbey of Disentis seems then erected to remember that too much is not at the bottom of the real dimension of man, it is necessary to preserve in your heart with humility that, even today, is based Standing in the oldest specimen of monumental Swiss Benedictine austere enough troops to desist from crossing the unwanted step Lukmanier, considered crucial point to undermine the heart of the Alps since the emperor Otto I and Frederick Barbarossa.

From here on the way back to be so steep and treacherous, having to constantly resort to the use of the rack: verbatim the Glacier Express raises its head, with the clear intention of undermining the highest peak High whole journey. Fatigue and stubborn. Meter by meter reaches 2033, near Oberalppass, the point at which the ice of Graubünden spectacularly reflected in the lake that bears the name of the pass: this is a natural paradise for those who want to dedicate themselves to activities in the snow (in the direction of Andermatt meet 34 skiing facilities and over 166 km of slopes), but even for those who believe that the excursions in the folds of the Gotthard conceal the definitive answers to the audacity of the Glacier.

Suddenly, however, pitch dark. The capped peaks, the fury of the rivers, the dance of the trees disappear with a wet sponge. The earth fell silent. Left with the sinking feeling of being plunged into an abyss luciferin opened under the rails, an insistence now inevitable punishment for recidivism. No. It is not the hand of an angry god Olympic. Nor is the punishment for having despised Babel. Inside the gallery Furka-Basis actually opens a passage of twenty kilometers from 1982 to date, intends to beat the winter chill and allow the articulation of traffic without any interruption of service. And 'the ultimate sacrifice imposed on the Glacier Express: give up the heights to gain the way to the sea. To break through that will not meet until at least more real obstacles to the waters of the Mediterranean. The trip to Brig is now down, calmed by the waves of the Rhone and controlled view from homes patriarchal wood in the Valais is dotted. The needles and rough edges give the mellifluous call of the baroque bell, leaving the harshness of the rock beneath the plasma scalpel civilizing. After the 270 degree bend of the tunnel, the train then slips for 150 meters into the heart of the valley.

Never trust appearances. The beautiful

Stockalperschloss spiers onion, or castle in Brig, should have remembered that the defenses do not ever go down early. Forced to face a new terrain of steep and rugged, the momentum of the race can only run aground. At the sides, thin stone bridges are desperate to find footholds, and end up staring eyes linger on the huge cone of debris near Randa. If today the nature here seems more forgiving and allows you to have a successful outcome to the thrown, it was certainly not in 1991. Mostratasi yielding to the lust for conquest of man, the mountain was scarred by a violent rockslide.

A warning, perhaps. On the other hand, the wall that leads to Zermatt is not a joke, setting a new altitude of one thousand meters, as well as a lesson in patience he has in himself all the ancient wisdom of the Alps. Su. Su. Yet a little while. The bulwark of the Valais promises a safe haven under the stone slabs of the traditional "mazot" as well as care centers now masters of the final answer to the 104-year Inderbine Ulrich, the legendary mountain guide who forgot the time the shadow of the Matterhorn.

Canino ivory no longer prey on the horizon, is the only one not to be resigned to run for that train stubborn. Growls. Ring in the cobalt sky. It keeps repeating to himself: "come back, that's for sure." No fear. The Glacier Express is now known as well bite the bullet.

COMFORT GUARANTEED

When you say "Swiss precision". Coaches for the panoramic vision of 270 degrees, tilted wine glasses with stems, depending on the slope slope, grappa and brandy served using an arc drop of nearly one meter. These are just some of the small details that make the journey on the Glacier Express experience of great comfort and welfare, as well as scenic beauty. Not least are the tasty dishes that accompany the journey from St. Moritz to Zermatt (or vice versa, about www.glacierexpress.ch or www.rhb.ch), generally accessible in a day between 9 am and 6 am evening: inevitable on board the typical dark Swiss chocolate or pecan pie Graubunden, bread and pear wines of Valtellina tradition, as the effort or the White Vertemate. For those nostalgic for a service is even available in retro style, hooking the Glacier Express a Crocodile Ge 6 / 6 more than 70 years (along the Alpine Classic Pullman Express) or a steam locomotive on the way Furka-Berg.

TRAVEL PACKAGES

1) Adrastea ( www.treninorosso.it ): 3 days in combination Bernina, Glacier Express and Zermatt, with shares in person from € 349 (includes two nights accommodation in 3 star hotels Chur to Zermatt, travel in economy class flights from Milan).

2) The Sunflower ( www.ilgirasoleviaggi.it) : 3 days in the formula "Matterhorn white": it always starts from London but you arrive on the first day in Zermatt, taking the train instead. First night in Brig the second to Chur and then back away towards the Bernina Milan. From 380 € in second class.

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giant with feet of clay

Just peek over the gate a few seconds and are already all there. The English teacher with his lame tunic and immaculate, the incumbent president in the massive forms of ancient candace, a bunch of kids who, chuckling accomplice, is no longer in the skin. Sometimes dark as pitch, other soft amber, because Mulwad the Maghreb and Africa, nomadic black sit at the same desk every day. Patiently learn to live together and recognize that push boundaries beyond the tribal scarification.

These are the territories of Kababish or Fur, or of Bisharin Hadendoa. Or so he hopes the people of this small village buried in the white sands of the desert Bayuda and silt of the Nile, more than ever determined to give a peaceful future for their children.

"Living together in harmony is not just a political or religious affiliation - recognize the teachers - but a practical necessity. Far from the corridors of power, the Sudan is a vast expanse of farming villages and communities devoted to sheep, forced to deal daily with the threat of desertification and water scarcity. For us the arrival of the other, the stranger, has always been a blessing, a window on the world wide open for food that we take our hope. "

Since last October, the horizon was suddenly on top of the tourism in the region of the Nile has dedicated a special day, hoping that the pilot wave wakes national pride. But that's the last resort to which the government is holding on to avoid the inevitable: the division of the southern part of the country, to decide on independence in a referendum scheduled for January 11.

almost a blasphemy to the ears of President Omar Hasan Ahmad al-Bashir, yet wandering between the villages and archaeological sites of Nubia is easy to see how the history of Sudan is no more than a continuous turnover of its own people. More than 500 different ethnic groups, forced the British in the immense boundaries enacted in 1956, when Finally, the Union Jack was lowered.

Mulwad, just as Taminal, Umegal or any other small cluster you meet along the Nile, apparently just like the neighbors. A dusty road and a bit 'wider in the middle, some thorny acacia writhing under the anger of the Sun, a maze of walls so blinded by white.

not recognize at first glance an urban scheme, an idea of \u200b\u200border, but the error lies here: Nubia desperately seeks the shade, hiding the His grace of the women behind the veils that float over the fences dividing colorful, or sit in a group among the corridors of their homes, waiting for a puff of hot air dried henna just drawn.

Their elegant thawb unsheathe saffron yellow, cobalt blue or purple, the color of their bodies and give inspiration to their hands, when temperatures dipped into the slip sinuously on the walls of the home: fine art of a self-taught genius, through which they can make those wonderful flowers blossom on lime in the desert seems so stingy, but their clothes are rather extravagant. The imagination to power. Improvisation that supplants ratiocination computer. And 'the pride of diversity claimed by a peace sign.

Other times, however, are the fetishes on the entrance pillars to indicate that Africa animist, and a little 'wild, is still there, although invariably the cry of the muezzin vigilant sovereign. On top of a column the jaws of a crocodile waiting for careless prey. The horns of an antelope are ready to get on. Evil spirits are certainly not lacking in this land where the remains of ancient necropolis emerge suddenly behind the house, or passages of the pyramids lie scattered everywhere in the bowels of hell.

for what will be on the table there is always a bowl of ful - the popular stew of beans with olive oil, cumin and chili - or a steaming cup of karkadé: the host, whatever origin it may be, will always be welcome, provided they know how to approach abandoning the aggressive gestures, such as undressing the arrogance of wealth. It 'impossible to trade the dignity that the people of Sudan has not forgotten and still knows how to apply the right amount of surprise and disapproval.

Outside Khartoum, the capital, which lies at the confluence between the White Nile and Blue Nile, and even the fears of the British Governor Gordon Pasha hallucinations are now only due to the harsh temperatures. Even if they were to resurface on television between the lines of Charlton Heston, the unfortunate hero who dedicated one of his English most memorable performances in the film Khartoum.

No Mahdi ready to tear the troops of His Majesty, as happened in the dramatic morning of January 26, 1885, dawn of that rebel Sudan who knew how to inflict the first defeat in a landmark military Europe. No dall'appetito ravenous lion, so feared by our Joseph Ferlini, the Bolognese doctor in search of Pharaonic treasures that brought him more curses than riches, having destroyed entire pyramids blows of a pickaxe.

At most, only clouds of butterflies that adorn the walls carelessly lit nights in tents, some camel spider fond of moths and scorpions gold-hungry dew minor setbacks of the period of flooding of the Nile when the air gets fired and the thermometer seems likely to spill over 60 degrees.

Despite the concerns of the government are pushing to build roads and bridges throughout Nubia, the crossing by camel, like a 4x4 expedition off the track, there is still the most common way to reach the forgotten treasures of the Pharaohs Blacks. Even the camp under the stars may provide comfort away from the aspirations of Khartoum, but the spirit remained the same as those of the many explorers who have come here in the footsteps of the mysterious kingdom of Kush.

Fortunately, the only weapons that Sudan is now known to oppose the poor clothes of cotton and spears claim that withered the pride of the House Khalifa Khartoum, the former home of the caliph who succeeded to the hero of independence by the British.

Guns rusty ogle the pilgrims visiting the tomb of the Mahdi, shiny silver dome in the heart of the capital, gives the impression of being able to explode only one last shot. The rickety stalls of the souk of Omdurman, a city on the west bank of the Nile opposite the capital, exposing only a few dagger sikkin, whose long knife - as is the custom among the nomadic Bisharin - moves easily aligned with the forearm. Next to them lie at the most powerful amulets wizards of the rain or kujur hypnotic incense-gum arabic.

'm pretty smiles ivory to shine in the dark faces of Nubia today. The thin hands who rise to the sky appear simple gestures of greeting, indicate the unusual stranger, invite you to have the waves of a felucca to direct cataracts of the Nile. Just hatred against white settlers. Disappearance for fear the incursions of the Egyptians, the Assyrians or the Ottomans.

Yet the cries of Darfur continues to deafen the ears of those who no longer know listen. The present military uniforms to the countless checkpoints scare most of the unstoppable advance of China, to the sound of roads, stadiums as a gift and light poles stuck into the void, has already put its hands on the newly discovered rich oil fields in the country. Not to mention the cool gold mines came to light rail along the Egypt-bound or iron stores east of Meroe, appetizers that whet many other giants of the global market.

"Our true wealth is placed in our history - ruling a senior kafir, ready to surprise the intruders who think they have arrived abandoned at an archaeological site - and here it is necessary to redesign the role of Sudan in Africa and the world. Heirs and builders feel the same jaw-dropping wonders that both citizens of the north, is the south, is perhaps the best way to erase the bitterness of the past. To tread a path of peace that is also a way forward for the country's most marginal communities. "

seems to hear again the words of the glorious pharaoh Taharqa, which El-Kurru inaugurated a royal necropolis where the bricks had to seal the power of the future. Or the proclamations of the kings of Meroe, the heirs of those proud warriors desert, around 750 BC, from here until they went up the Nile delta, to claim dominion over all the territories once belonged to the Egyptian.

Pharaohs Pharaohs whites against blacks. Eternal struggle for the light of civilization against the darkness of isolation: it is all written in the parable of Nubian architecture, which summarizes centuries of human vices and virtues. The crude stands Nuri that slowly transformed the underground tombs in the vertical organization of power at Meroe, before thinning again, unable to emulate crumble too big a step.

In supporting the audacity of the XXV dynasty who surprised the antiquity with huge pens for domesticated elephants, or gold outfits so massive as to forget even the black color of their skin. The Egyptians called them Nubians, in fact, "golden men" who believed gods on earth, but it turns out pretty damn deadly when the story forced them back to the margins of civilization, and let them swallow black Africa for centuries.

A Musawwarat, the expert hand that had been able to portray the feathers of Horus and carved ram's fleece is made uncertain, rough, almost trivial. The corridors bends dangerously. Not even the massive Jebel Barkal sacred seems all'impietosa escaped the grip of time: the proud profile of King Cobra, slotting in the pinnacle overlooking the enormous block of red sandstone, is consumed every day in the wear of the winds. What once was the formal sanctuary of the god Amun, is now offering as a heap of ruins, only threatened the flight of vultures. Going back to its summit does not shrines can be seen most magnificent and fearsome troops, but the immutable Nile meandering between palm humble hell of basaltic rocks.

The capital of the United Black has lost ground. Napata has stumbled at Meroe, a little 'further south, closer to the anguish that limes in the old maps feared the unknown of the beyond. It matters little if there is concentrated the largest gathering of the world famous pyramids. Forty, maybe more. Generation after generation, the eye also ended up losing the sharp geometry, exchanging a holy picture on the columns at the entrance to Jebel Barkal an obscure figure feline. She was the goddess Hathor.

creative jolts us were still in the fifth century AD, when the Coptic managed to create some impressive churches in the vicinity of Old Dongola. Also disappear in the shadow of Islamic qubba. For Sudan will be the beginning of the long sleep, although capitals crossed by arched cross remained buried only half, as the tips of the pyramids had a last burst of pride, pushing their stranglehold over the top of the sand.

And on the ground, nothing more than shards of clay, ready to resurface, however, stubbornly here and there. Almost waiting to be put back together with old patience, to reveal the true face of a country relegated to the confluence of two worlds. Today more than yesterday.

THE WHEEL OF TIME

The word dervish still puts chills in the Sudan. Although it literally means nothing more than "poor" or "beggar", and Islam in general to appoint members mystical currents in Khartoum is still very much alive the memory of their slaughter at the hands of the British commander Horatio Herbert Kitchener, and of a recruit is not yet known, a certain Winston Churchill. Every Friday evening when the sun begins to set, their successors are found near the qubba (tomb) of a major Muslim preacher who died in 1936, Sheikh Hamad el Nil, and the show so early. They come in dozens, perhaps hundreds, praising Allah, jumping right and left, turning on themselves, beating the rhythm with your hands, feet, plates or sticks. The large white robes become the wheels of time, ecstasy general invitation to join with the faithful of the past and feel the divine presence through spasms of the body. The drums surrounded him. Long trumpets squeal. Although not a performance designed for the public, anyone can access and participate in collective ecstasy. At least until sundown, when the circles of dancers line up to Mecca and began to pray according to traditional methods. But it is in the frenzy of rotations which radiates all the charm of the elegantly decorated robes, turned to the sky rhythm sticks, necklaces and hair tinkling in the wind. A snapshot that inevitably recalls the massive assault against British troops on 2 September 1898, can destroy in a few seconds to almost 10 thousand warriors remained defend what remained of the great freedom of Khartoum Mahdi.

archaeological mystery

The Temple of the Lion of Naga is a real headache for archaeologists. Even the name of the place, for anyone familiar with the oriental culture, calls the sacred snake of Indian mythology, but the similarities with the great Asian country are not limited to this. The portraits of the lion god Apedemak fact have four arms and three different perspectives, highlighting a far stylistic complexity of classical or Egyptian Africans. The same god, moreover, reappears on a pylon outside in the form of a serpent with a lion's head, keeping a distance from any other contemporary engraving. But that's not all appear in his company and also the Greek Zeus Serapis, both bearded, with hair and a silhouette-ray clearly evokes Helios. Three different ancient cultures seem, therefore, gathered here and live together harmoniously. Despite the tireless team of German studies, testimonials attesting to their direct contact on site continue to fail, as no other track like it was even more returns in other parts of Sudan. It should also be noted that, despite the presence of Isis and Osiris, the god lion never belonged to the Egyptian pantheon, so much to show in bas-relief of a ferocity unusual for Naga sacred representations (sometimes known as a lion devouring the head of slaves), as well as unsettling is the size of the Queen Amanitore, almost as big as the wife Natakamani. What happened in Naga, then? Maybe this town hides a history of transfers and that contamination may have also influenced ways of thinking more underground? Was there really a society dominated by women candace? Each response is still pending.

HOUSING TO BE SAVED

do not count a same. Nubian houses constantly surprised by the variety and beauty of their decorations, and when displayed on the portals polychrome (on top of which often soar fetishes of protection), that the internal and external walls of houses. From the day the paint was the terminus in the remote villages north of Khartoum, the artistic instinct of the people has totally abandoned the fantasy. Geometric or floral designs, abstract figures or hunting scenes, parallel worlds open up on the white lime of the walls, where the dipped fingers of young artists take on their surface to flow without any idea predetermined. Relying simply the taste of the time or extent of the available space. An art of pure class extraction, however, that risks of extinction from one generation to another, often because of poverty that grips most isolated families. That is why the Italian Tourism Company, in accordance with the advice of local elders and the tour operator's Travels Maurice Levi, has decided to support these initiatives by providing artistic colors best suited to families. The agreement also provides that the Italian travelers can also enjoy tea house or break into homes sponsored, coming into direct contact with the habits and customs of the premises. Or who knows, contributing with his own artistic taste to enhance a remote corner of the distant Nubia.

RESTAURANTS

THE VILLAGE ASSAH

(00249/155.212.121 Tel - 183481919, fax 00249/183.481.912. Khartoum1 behind the Canadian Embassy)

near Khartoum, the complex serves as both a 4-star hotel with nice ambience in the Middle East (20 rooms) and a restaurant, standing out in particular for its Lebanese specialties. Among his best dishes stand out the spicy grilled meats, the mezzeh (hors d'oeuvres flour vegetables) and rice pudding.

Al Waha

(Tel 0183/499.288, Khartoum 2)

Khartoum2 is located in the district and is the place to taste the famous sheep in the Sudan ", better known as Kharouf. An animal in the middle between a goat and a sheep in fact, long-tailed and plump, though its meat is also very thin and highly digestible. It is often served with a very spicy sauce. Prices from 8 to 12 euro range.

CHAI HOUSE

literally "tea houses", are in fact the equivalent of our motorway services. Convenient stations spaced out on the roads crossing the desert, where you can safely eat their meals prepackaged or taste some local specialties. Generally, a lentil soup, bean or beans, along with blocks of chicken or lamb, onion ends, cumin and lemon juice.

HOTELS

GRAND HOLIDAY VILLA

(PO Box 316, Nile Avenue - Khartoum, tel. 00249/183.774.039, fax 00249/183. 773961)

previously known in Khartoum under the name of Grand Hotel, was built in the late nineteenth century and was home to no less that Queen Victoria, but also the famous explorer Thomas Cook and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Suggestive its position on the banks of the Blue Nile. It consists of 160 rooms furnished in colonial style, but also some private apartments.

NUBIAN

REST HOUSE (info at The Italian Tourism Co. Ltd., Street 27 - Al Amarat Khartoum.

00249/183.487.961 Tel, fax 00249/183.487.962. Email: info @ italtoursudan . com)

typical example of a Nubian-style house, the rest-house by Karima surprising since its entrance door, beautifully carved and brightly colored. The rooms are housed in a cozy property vaulted ceilings and wood furnishings, are distributed around a garden where you can admire the nearby sacred mountain of Jebel Barkal. Open from October to late April.

SAFARI CAMP BUT

(Ask The Italian Tourism Co. Ltd., Street 27 - Al Amarat Khartoum.

00249/183.487.961 Tel, fax 00249/183.487.962. Email: info @ italtoursudan . com)

Located in the Bagarwya taken, about 230 km north of Khartoum, the tented camp is the property of The Travels of Maurice Levi and above the spectacular necropolis of Meroe. Guests have access to as many as 10 tents colonial with 4 by 4 meters, mounted on a concrete base and decorated with delightful wooden furniture. Do not miss the sunrise on canvas chairs in front of the veranda, or dinner on the first floor of the nearby restaurant and ventilated. Open from October until the end of April.