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    Cycling Across the World’s Largest Desert (Sudanese Sahara)



    The Sahara desert is the largest hot desert in the world. The whole northern region of Sudan is a part of it. It’s a harsh place to live in, yet alone to cycle across, and my expectations were pretty low. The first question I asked myself was “how boring will this desert crossing be?”. Little did I know, this was the wrong question to ask. I was about to explore an extremely underrated, rich, and fascinating zone of our planet, that rarely had any light shed on it…

    Consider supporting me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/RobertoHelou
    Project Africa Website: www.projectafrica.bike

    MY SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS:
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/explorob/
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/explorob
    Letterboxd (To read my movie reviews): https://letterboxd.com/robertohelou/
    The music used in this video is from EpidemicSound. Get a 1-month free trial here: https://www.epidemicsound.com/referral/ibdiuj/

    Big thanks to Dylan for the amazing map animations. Check out his YouTube channel: @DylanBoynukalin
    Additional Animation by the awesome Rayan Haddad.

    Tim’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dreamtim___/
    Flo’s YouTube: @FlorenceRyan

    Thanks to @lostshmi for the unreal drone footage she shot the day the war started.
    Thanks to Mazin Urso for some of the drone footage: https://instagram.com/mazinurso?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
    Thank you Niels Jansen for some the drone footage: https://instagram.com/cycling_around_the_planet?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
    Old footage of the road in Northern Sudan by Lars Bengtsson: https://instagram.com/lostcyclist?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

    Music by Scott Buckley – released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au

    Chapters in the Videos:
    0:00 Intro
    1:37 A Brief History of Sudan
    2:36 Day 1 in the desert
    4:12 Our friend Tim!
    5:03 A lot of cash
    6:05 Gold in the desert
    8:19 The Gold Diggers
    10:01 The food is FOUL
    10:53 The rocky desert plateaus
    12:13 Camping in the sands
    12:54 The Mighty Nile
    14:16 The ancient mudbrick structures
    15:39 A forbidden drink: Araqi
    18:34 The civil war and the story of Araqi
    20:14 A new lifestyle
    21:17 Forced hospitality
    22:38 How people drink in the desert
    23:40 Nubian Music
    25:08 A hospitable scout
    26:04 Expanding my perspective
    27:25 The Great Desert stretch
    28:35 The Pyramids of Jabal Barkal
    30:16 Food poisoning and editing
    31:40 Karima the generous
    32:25 The Camel Market
    33:09 Sand’s secret
    33:48 Why are Sudanese hospitable?
    36:01 The last desert crossing
    37:33 Arrival in Khartoum
    38:15 War?

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    50 Comments

    8. Mr Honk Honk on

      This advanture made me think of making this same type of advanture to see other culture and understanding more of the world we are living in, being out of our confort zone some time it's the best. Thank you for your video and keep this beautiful work you are making

    14. Mahmoud Gaballah on

      Great video! You are a natural storyteller. You have your own unique style and your use of music is just phenomenal. Being Egyptian, I have always wondered about travelling to neighboring countries, experiencing culture and getting exposed to the beauty of both the people and the land. I wait for your videos and I travel through your eyes for now. I wish that someday I can do that as well.

      I wish you all the best, and I am sure your videos will go beyond what you could ever imagine. I am surprised you do not have millions of views already, but keep going, the world needs to hear your stories. You are very talented!

    16. Chronicles of Manliness on

      I've been following you for a while now, ever since the start of this amazing project. I can't describe to you how impressed I am by all the effort and dedication you've put into this.
      I'm Lebanese as well and have been working in France for a while. I always dreamed about travelling one day like you did but due to current circumstances, I'm weighed down by responsibilities that take priority. In a way, with your amazing storytelling, it feels like I am living my dreams through your words and I can't thank you enough for this.

      Good luck on the rest of your journey, I can't wait to see what you have for us next.

    17. Muhammed Tahir on

      How this video has 26k views shocks me , the amount of knowledge I’ve learnt and the high level of videography had me shocked well done man and good luck on your journey 🙂

    23. Eltayeb Jaafer on

      Dude as a Sudanese and third culture kid, this vlog by far the best thing i have ever seen in YouTube about Sudan, the amount of talent pored into this vlog is absolutely insane dude you’re different and unique in your own special way ❤

    30. Kimani Muiru on

      Such an awesome storyteller, perfect documentation, feeling part of the journey behind my screen. This is such an inspiration. Eagerly waiting for the Kenyan edition and also waiting for you in Nairobi Kenya.

    34. Ellie Wildbore on

      This is so inspiring. I wish I could join you! I love thé mix of fun, facts and amazing filmography. You are talented, I’m enjoying seeing Flo’s point of view on her channel too. I hope this kicks off for you soon because you deserve it for delivering us this amazing content. I’m briefly in Kenya having just been in South Africa for 10 days, the cycling in south Africa was amazing, in my short time there I got adopted by the local cyclists. If you’ve arrived in Cape Town by march you should do the Cape Town cycle tour!

    35. aydenmizen4 on

      Just came across your channel after watching the Best Ever Food Review Show. When do you estimate to arrive in Cape Town? I would love to meet you and perhaps give you a taste of true South African cuisine? Epic Channel, and fantastic real content.

    39. May Buelis on

      New sub here.
      You did very well in Best Food Review walking through Sunny in tackling Syrian refugees situation in Lebanon. It's indeed a lot to process from there.
      The food featured are mouth watering as well. It goes to show how resourceful people can be given that they're on that situation.
      And now, time for me to explore your channel. 👍👍

    50. Philip Rowney on

      38:00 – Commentary on the gentle, giving nature of people who live in harsh environments is a thing. It had been mentioned by a statistician in the past, the only country that broke that trend was the USA.

      Iceland to the Hadza, you will find help when you are visiting hard places to live, moreso in the less populous places.

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