Tembea: Tuti Island

Darling of Khartoum Tuti is a unique crescent shaped Island located at the confluence of Blue Nile and White Nile after which it becomes the Main Nile. The Island is surrounded by Khartoum city in the South, Khartoum North in the North and Northeast and Omdurman city in the West. The Island is at the confluence of the White Nile and the Blue Nile. But is home to only one small village (founded in the late 15th century), with grassland being the main makeup of the island. The population of Tuti is considered one of the oldest settlements in the conurbation of Khartoum, dating back to the late 15th century. The Tutians are descendents of the Mahas tribe from the Northern state. They originally migrated southwards and settled mainly in Tuti Island, some consider them as holy men whose main concern was to spread Islam in that area. Tuti is described as a rural settlement within an urban locality, a rural “ eye”, but the provision of the public and social services are quite enough to classify Tuti as an urban locality. It Island lies at the heart of Khartoums most famous beauty spot where Mahas tribesmen have lived for centuries, isolated from the cacophony of Khartoum, Omdurman and Bahri, only a short boat ride away. The 8 km sq Island developed its shape as a result of the river bank erosion due to the fast flow of the Blue Nile that turned the Eastern part from a convex to a concave shape Tuti Island is mainly agricultural and where Khartoum gets most of its supply of fruits and vegetables and therefore, you can find many farms situated all around the island, many of them still using manual methods of farming. You will find acres of green fields and lime groves. Its eight square kilometers (three square miles) of fertile land are covered in citrus orchards, vegetable farms, gorse hedgerows and narrow muddy lanes where donkeys and rickshaws are the main source of transport. In the past the only approach to Tuti Island was via several ferries that cross the river every so often, but now the Tuti Bridge, a modern suspension bridge, has been completed it is used instead. There are almost no cars and only one paved road on the 15,000-resident island. People walk, ride donkeys or use golf-cart-like rickshaws. The building of the Tuti Bridge has sparked development projects on Tuti Island, primarily by Tuti Island Investment Company, which plans to turn the Island into a state of the art tourist resort. These ideas have caused controversy, with the locals wishing to protect their village from Tuti island still maintains the characteristics of a traditional village even though its minutes away from the center of town, all that is about to change with the construction of Tuti bridge. Ends

Lifestyle

Tembea: Tuti Island