ICONIC BUILDINGS
01 MEROË SUDAN
Rising enigmatically from the remote desert sands north of Khartoum, the haunting remains of Meroe offer a tantalising glimpse of the former wealth and artistry of the legendary Kingdom of Kush, one of the oldest and greatest of all African empires. Established foltowing the collapse of Ancient Egypt's New Kingdom in around 1000BC, Kush flourished for over 1000 years, providing a unique cultural link between Ancient Egypt, the Roman Empire and Saharan Africa. Centrepiece of the ruins is the remarkable pyramid field, dotted with around 200 pyramids [more than in the whole of Egypt] built in a distinctively Nubian style, smaller and spikier than their Egyptian cousins. Many are still impressively preserved despite the attentions of Italian treasure-hunter Guiseppe Ferlini, who dynamited the to ps off 40 of them during the 1830s while searching for gold. The pyramid field is part of the UNESCO-listed Island of
