Burj El Fateh - Khartoum

Last week I posted about visiting the Souq (market) to buy a formal outfit for a special occassion. You can read about this here.

The proposed outing was a dinner date at a five star hotel in the city. This and the impromptu invitation to a Sudenese wedding the night before, (see here if you wish) were the first social events we've been to here in Khartoum and I must admit, I was very excited while preparing for it.

Close-up detail of my outfit. Even though almost all the eveningwear is revealing, you wear a gossamer, snug-fitting T-shirt underneath to make it acceptable in public

Grant and I off on our dinner date

Burj Al Fateh Hotel, Khartoum (Photo courtesy of the Internet)

Ever since arriving in Khartoum in August last year, I've yearned to go to the Burj Al Fateh. This hotel complex is situated on the confluence of the White and Blue Niles. It is in the centre of Khartoum's commercial, business and administrative districts.

Well, last Wednesday Grant invited Issam, to dinner with us at the Burj Al Fateh.

This hotel is a sleek masterpiece of steel and glass and rises up eighteen floors. The first two floors, after the ground floor reception area, contain the most sumptious suites. The next sixteen have a five-star restaurant on each. We ate at The Richshaw, on level seventeen. This beautifully decorated restaurant, which serves Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese and Chinese food, is softly lit and elegant. It exudes an intimate, warm ambiance along with the exoticism of the East. The food is tasty, light, beautifully presented and served by petite Japanese waitresses. The service? Ten-star!

However, it's rather disconcerting to dine at such a height seated at your "window" table with circular windows three meters away. The view onto Khartoum seemed miles down. I had hoped to get panoramic photos of the city but due to the open-plan design, I couldn't actually lean up against a window. (The architects never visualised having a blogger there!) Grant has promised to take me there late one afternoon to take photos. Apparently there's a pool deck right at the top with an unlimited view of the city. Mmm.

Mugran restaurant on the sixteenth floor

The architecture is breathtaking (Photo: courtesy of the Internet)

Restaurants on every level are visible from the three floors up and down
(Photos above and below: courtesy of the Internet)

The Presidential Suite - isn't it just stunning?

The Rickshaw Restaurant was our choice for dinner

I had spicy Thai vegetables with fried rice. Unlike the men who ate with conventional utensils, I was adventurous and used chopsticks

Issam and Grant talking shop. There is no alcolhol served in the Sudan. Yet the fruit juices are freshly squeezed and the tastiest drink ever

My poor subjects wait patiently while I master the flash function on my new camera!

The copper murals (above and below) were visible from the frighteningly fast glass lift/elevator

I was rather proud of this photo...

For more beautiful worlds, click here. Thanks to Klaus, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy and Sylvia for this wonderful meme.