Qualla: Kassala https://qualla.com/kassala en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:29 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/s/f/9/z/kassala-wk/hero-small.webp Qualla: Kassala https://qualla.com/kassala Kassala: Introduction https://qualla.com/kassala/ Photo credit Petr Adam Dohnálek, CC BY-SA 3.0 cz. Drink from the well of Totil and you will come back to Kassala one day. The legend is local to the cafes built into the rocky lower slopes of Jebel Totil, one of the three sudden mountains that rise behind the old quarter of Khatmiya. Locals will tell you the story with the same easy authority they use when explaining that the roofless dome of Seyid Hassan's tomb never lets rain through, so holy is the buried saint. Kassala, a market town a few hours from the Eritrean border in eastern Sudan, traffics in these certainties. Its coffee is spiced with ginger and cinnamon and served with incense and popcorn. Its mangoes grow in orchards along a river that spends most of the year dry and sandy. Its souqs dress the Rashaida women in bright red and black robes that they weave themselves. This is a corner of Sudan that has its own rules.

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Image: Petr Adam Dohnálek | CC BY-SA 3.0 cz

]]> Thu, 23 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/f/9/z/kassala-wk/sf9z-kassala-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Kassala: The Mountains Behind the City https://qualla.com/kassala/ Photo credit Petr Adam Dohnálek, CC BY-SA 3.0 cz. Kassala sits at the base of three jagged peaks, Taka, Totil, and Aweitila, rising suddenly out of otherwise flat country. Jabal Kasala (Kassala Mountain) rises 300 meters above the surrounding area with a small summit and steep slopes. The Taka range gives the city its visual sig...

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Image: Petr Adam Dohnálek | CC BY-SA 3.0 cz

]]> Thu, 23 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/f/9/z/kassala-wk/sf9z-kassala-the-mountains-behind-the-city.mp3 0:06 2 full Kassala: Coffee, Fuul, and the Language of the Cup https://qualla.com/kassala/ Photo credit Fabian Lambeck, CC BY-SA 4.0. Kassala's coffee tradition is specific and alive. The pot is a jebbana, a clay vessel with a long neck, sold cheaply in Souq an-Niswaan along with the wooden mortar and pestle for grinding the beans and the ginger. The cups are tiny. The defaults can be ordered by name. Bi dawa t...

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Image: Fabian Lambeck | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Thu, 23 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/f/9/z/kassala-wk/sf9z-kassala-coffee-fuul-and-the-language-of-the-cup.mp3 0:06 3 full Kassala: The Gash and the Railway Quarter https://qualla.com/kassala/ Photo credit Bertramz, CC BY 3.0. The Gash River runs through Kassala, but for most of the year it is a dry sandy riverbed used for evening football practice. When the rainy season arrives, water cascades down from the Eritrean mountains and charges through the city. The river is also dangerous, having flooded in...

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Image: Bertramz | CC BY 3.0

]]> Thu, 23 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/f/9/z/kassala-wk/sf9z-kassala-the-gash-and-the-railway-quarter.mp3 0:06 4 full Kassala: The Souqs and the Rashaida https://qualla.com/kassala/ Photo credit Petr Adam Dohnálek, CC BY-SA 3.0 cz. Kassala's markets are where the city's ethnic mosaic is most visible. Souq an-Niswaan, the women's souq, is where baskets and mats are made, along with coffee-making equipment and incense. Souq ar-Rashaida is where the Rashaida tribe gather to sell their bright red and black robe...

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Image: Petr Adam Dohnálek | CC BY-SA 3.0 cz

]]> Thu, 23 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/f/9/z/kassala-wk/sf9z-kassala-the-souqs-and-the-rashaida.mp3 0:06 5 full Kassala: Coffee, Permits, and a Contested Border https://qualla.com/kassala/ Photo credit Bertramz, CC BY 3.0. Foreign travelers to Kassala need a permit, easily obtained in Khartoum or, as of March 2010, at the Permits Office across from Dandas Hotel with one photo, three copies of passport and visa, and a form filled out on location. The process was free and took about five minutes. Bor...

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Image: Bertramz | CC BY 3.0

]]> Thu, 23 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/f/9/z/kassala-wk/sf9z-kassala-coffee-permits-and-a-contested-border.mp3 0:06 6 full