Ad-Damir

Ad-Damir or ad-Damar (Arabic: الدامر, romanized: ad-Dāmar) is the capital of the River Nile state in Sudan. It lies on the right (east) bank of the Nile River, at an elevation of 1,158 feet (353 metres), about 155 miles (249 km) northeast of Khartoum, with a population of about 122,944 (estimated 2012). Its famous market, Soug as-Sabit, is the most important in the area. Ad-Dāmar is an example of a Sudanese African-Islamic city founded toward the end of the fifteenth century. Since ad-Damar was located on the bank of the river, it could be expected to exhibit a linear morphology. By 1814, it was a large town, containing about 500 houses. The city was clean and had many new buildings. Houses were uniform in construction and with regular streets with shady trees (Burckhardt, 1980; Crawford, 1951). Ad-Dāmar is linked by road and railway and both transport routes are almost parallel to the Nile River, with nearby ʿAṭbarah and Barbar and with Khartoum. An oil pipeline, about 530 miles (850 km) in length, between Port Sudan and Khartoum passes by the outskirts of the town. Pop. (2008 prelim.) 73,654. It is mentioned in some books that Ad-Dāmar is one of the oldest cities in the country and the whole region.