Surrounded by strange
jebels (rounded hills), Kassala (pop.
430,000) has an active souk (market) selling locally made handicrafts (jewelry, knives, swords). Women of the Rashida tribe (descendants of 19th-century immigrants from Saudi Arabia) make the silver jewelry. Kassala can be reached by bus from Khartoum or Port Sudan.
250 mi/400 km east of Khartoum.