Showak Explained

Showak
Settlement Type:Town
Other Name:الشواك
Pushpin Map:Sudan
Pushpin Label Position:above
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Sudan
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: Sudan
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Al Qadarif
Population Density Km2:auto
Timezone:EAT
Utc Offset:+3
Coordinates:14.3833°N 87°W
Elevation M:516

Showak (also Ash Showak or el Showak[1]) (Arabic: االشواك|A'shou-wāk),is the capital of the Al Fushqa District located on the Atbarah River[2] in eastern Gedarif State, Sudan, at an altitude of 516abbr=offNaNabbr=off above sea level. It lies at a distance of to the northeast of Khartoum. Showak is a major transport hub between Gedaref, the state capital and Kassala city.

The national highway linking Khartoum and the rest of the country with Port Sudan, as well as the railway line parallel to it, passes through Showak. Showak has the largest cattle market in the state and contains a special clinic, affiliated with Khartoum University, which treats camels.[3] It also hosts a large UN Refugees camp in its vicinity known as the Shagarab Refugees camp and is home to the Sudanese headquarters of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.[4] [5] There is one hospital in the town, Ash Showak Rural Hospital, and a branch of the Agricultural Bank of Sudan, located in the town's main market.

Climate

Showak has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSh) with two distinct seasons: a short, sweltering and extremely oppressive wet season from mid-June to mid-September and a sweltering, desiccating dry season covering the rest of the year.

Notes and References

  1. Book: Dirani. Omar Hassan El. Jabbar. Mohammad Abdul. Babiker. Idris Babiker. Constraints in the Market Chains for Export of Sudanese Sheep and Sheep Meat to the Middle East. 2009. ILRI (aka ILCA and ILRAD). 978-92-9146-195-0. 27.
  2. Book: Hurst. Harold Edwin. Phillips. P.. Black. R. P.. The Nile Basin. 1950. Government Press. 122.
  3. Book: Masood. Ehsan. Schaffer. Daniel. Dry: Life Without Water. 2006. Harvard University Press. 978-0-674-02224-9. 18.
  4. Book: Shepherd. Andrew. Norris. Malcolm. Watson. John R.. Water planning in arid Sudan. 1987. Published for the Development Administration Group, Institute of Local Government Studies, University of Birmingham, by Ithaca Press. 978-0-86372-072-7. 36.
  5. Web site: Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Sudan. UNHCR. 10 December 2013.