Southern Sudan - Sudan del Sud

Southern Sudan

Location
Coat of arms and flag
Capital	Juba
Government	Federal presidential republic
Currency	South Sudanese Pound (SSP)
Surface	619,745 km²
Inhabitants	10.625.176 (2012 estimate) 8.260.490 (2008 census)
Tongue	English
Religion	Christianity (60.5%), Animism (34%), and the rest atheists or minor religions
Electricity	230V / 50Hz (European and British plug)
Prefix	211
TLD	.ss
Time zone	UTC 3

	ATTENTION: Due to the civil war currently underway, South Sudan is to be considered a destination at risk for visitors, so any type of trip is strongly discouraged. Extremist groups have among their objectives the kidnapping of tourists throughout the country. The border with the Central African Republic it is extremely dangerous. (July 2012)

Southern Sudan is a state ofSouthern Africa which has no access to the sea and is bordered to the north by the Sudan, to the east with theEthiopia, south with the Kenya, L'Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo and to the west with the Central African Republic.

To know

The previous status of autonomous region and the institutional form were guaranteed by the Naivasha peace agreement of 2005 between the southern separatists and the central government, which ended the second Sudanese civil war, one of the longest on the African continent: in based on the peace agreement, in January 2011 a regional referendum was held for independence from the rest of the Sudanese federation, which led, on 9 July 2011, to the complete independence of the country. The new country was officially admitted to the UN on July 14, 2011, becoming its 193rd member state.

Geographical notes

Unlike the Sudan, most of the state's territory is covered by tropical forests, swamps and meadows. There are many nature reserves that host migratory species in large numbers, such as the Bandingilo National Park and the Boma National Park. The main river is the White Nile. According to the WWF, there are several ecoregions in South Sudan: the Eastern Sudanese Savannah (savannah), the North Congo Forest (tropical forest), the Sudd (swamps) and the East African Montane Forests (forests).

Background

At the end of the 19th century the British colonized the Sudan which at the time also included South Sudan. In 1956 Sudan gained independence from UK. On 9 July 2011, thanks to a referendum that won the favor of almost 99% of the voters, South Sudan gained independence from Sudan.

Spoken languages

In addition to the official language, theArabic which acts in some situations as lingua franca and about 60 other indigenous languages, the main ones being: Dinka, Nuer, Bari and Zande.

Territories and tourist destinations

South Sudan is made up of ten governorates (wilāyāt), grouped into the three historical provinces (mudīriyyāt) of Bahr al-Ghazal, Equatoria, and Upper Nile. The 10 states are in turn subdivided into 86 counties, in turn subdivided into Payamas, and the Payamas in Bomas.

Bahr al-Ghazal - Corresponds to the northwestern region crossed by the homonymous river.

Equatoria - Corresponds to the southern region of the country and geographically coincides with the White Nile basin, from the Nuba Mountains to the Ugandan ones and from the Nile-Congo watershed to the Ethiopian spurs.

Upper Nile - He understands Malakal is Kodok. It corresponds to the northeastern region of the country crossed by the White Nile.

Urban centers

Group photo of a rural school

Juba - The capital of the country.
Aweil (Uwail or Uwayl) - Capital of Northern Bahr al-Ghazal.
Bentiu - Capital of the Unification, located 750 km from the Sudanese capital of Khartoum and located on the southern banks of the Bahr el Ghazal river.
Malakal - Capital of the Upper Nile, located on the banks of the White Nile, just north of its confluence with the Sobat River.
Rumbek - Capital of Laghi and old capital of the country.
Wāw (Arabic: واو Wou; also Wow or Waw) - Capital of the Western Bahr al-Ghazal located on the west bank of the Jur River. It is the second largest city in the country.
Yambio - Capital of the Western Equatoria, located near the border with Congo.

Other destinations

Southern National Park - Located in the region Bahr al-Ghazal.
Bandingilo National Park - Located in the region Equatoria.
Boma National Park - Located in the region ofUpper Nile.
Nimule National Park - Located in the region Equatoria near the homonymous city.

How to get

Entry requirements

Passport and entry visa. Being a newly formed country, South Sudan has few embassies abroad, currently the one competent for Italian citizens is located in Brussels, even if, the only ones that issue VISA are those of Nairobi in Kenya is Kampala in Uganda.

By plane

Currently there are no scheduled flights connecting the country with states outside the African continent, therefore it is necessary to make at least one stopover in a neighboring state. The main stopovers to reach Juba I'm: Cairo (Egypt), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Entebbe (Uganda), Nairobi (Kenya) is Khartoum (Sudan).

On the train

There is only one railway line in South Sudan that connects the Sudan to the city of Wāw. Please note that the border between Sudan and South Sudan is often closed due to internal problems, so before embarking on a train journey it is always good to contact the Sudan Railways Corporation [1] for more information.

How to get around

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Local habits for traveling by train

What see

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What to do

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Currency and purchases

The national currency is the South Sudanese pound (SSP) Here are the links to know the current exchange rate with the main world currencies:

(EN) With Google Finance:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD
With Yahoo! Finance:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD
(EN) With XE.com:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD
(EN) With OANDA.com:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD

At the table

The Nuer tribes eat mainly beef, goats, cow's milk, mango and Sorghum, cooked in three ways:

kop, finely chopped and boiled
wal wal, chopped and boiled to a solid consistency poriridge
injera, like flour for leavened bread with yeast.

Drinks

The best known local beer is White Bull distributed by SAB Miller.

Tourist infrastructure

The hotels, with some exceptions a Juba, they are very lacking.

Events and parties

National holidays

Date		Festivity	Note
1	January	Independence Day	Independence from UK (1956).
9	January	Peace agreement party	Memorial of the peace agreement signed in Nairobi (2005)
	March April	Easter	Christian holiday
1	May	Workers Day	International holiday
16	May	Day of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA)	SPLA founding memorial (1983)
30	July	Martyrs day	Memorial to the death of politician and guerrilla John Garang who led the SPLA (2005)
1	December	World AIDS Day	Global Awareness for AIDS Prevention (1988)
25	December	Christmas	Christian holiday that marks the birth of Christ
26	December	Saint Stephen	Christian holiday
1	muharram	Ras as-Sana	Muslim holiday that marks the beginning of the Islamic New Year
12	rabi 'al-awwal	Mawlid	Muslim holiday that marks the birth of the Prophet Muhammad
1	shawwal	Id al-fitr	Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan
10	dhul-hijja	Id Al Adha	Muslim festival of sacrifice or ram also called Tabaski or Id El Kabir (great festival)

Safety

Before embarking on the journey consult:

Safe travel - Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Farnesina) (Country safety information).

The whole country is very dangerous due to the ongoing conflict, in particular Jonglei and the Eastern Equatoria. The capital Juba it can be considered less dangerous, however episodes of petty crime with the use of firearms are frequent.

Health situation

Health facilities are inadequate and below Western standards. The diseases present are varied and in particular increase due to the situation created by the ongoing war, vaccinations against: yellow fever, meningitis, hepatitis A and B, typhus and cholera are recommended. Finally, antimalarial prophylaxis is recommended