Photo taken on Feb. 9, 2018 shows a goat(Seham) drinking carbonated drink in the city of Suakin, eastern Sudan. (Xinhua/Mohamed Khidir)
PORT-SUDAN, Sudan, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- The historical city of Suakin on the Red Sea coast in eastern Sudan is still a city of legends, tales and wonders, which is rising from within its ruins to restore its historical position.
The visit to Suakin is incomplete without passing by al-Qarmoushi Restaurant at the entry of the archaeological city, a restaurant which serves different types of sea fish dishes.
At the restaurant's yard, which is crowded with costumers, a visitor can see Seham. Seham is not a woman, but a goat representing one of the legends of Suakin city and its endless tales.
What makes this goat (Seham) so distinguished from other goats is that it drinks only carbonated water, namely Pepsi and Coca-cola, and feeds on meat and fish. It refrains from drinking natural drinking water or eating what normal goats eat.
According to the owner of Al-Qarmoushi restaurant, the goat Seham is 14 years old.
"This goat has been associated with this place since my father was running this restaurant. Thousands of tourists come to this place to see Seham," Abdalla Al-Qarmoushi, owner of Al-Qarmoushi restaurant, told Xinhua.
"It is a smart goat with strange behaviours. In the past it used to respond to the calls of the costumers, but it is apparent that its addiction to carbonated water has affected its hearing," he noted.
He further explained that many foreign tourists have offered huge sums to buy Seham, noting that he insisted that it was not for sell.
"Seham is priceless. Once a Saudi tourist offered us 2,000 U.S. dollars and a Turkish one 3,000 dollars, but we refused to sell it, because we are connected to it and it has become part of this place," said Al-Qarmoushi.
Meanwhile, inside Sudakin's archaeological island, the place still embodies ancient stories that are almost part of the city's ruins which are still enduring despite the collapse of most of the island's buildings.
The first thing that draws the attention from within the ruins of the archaeological buildings is the spread of fat cats, as no one knows what they eat or why they insist on staying in an abandoned place.
Suakin's cats do not fear the movement of the visitors of the island which is under restoration by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA). These cats do not even avoid the lenses of the photographers.
"There are many stories about the animals of this island," Ibrahim Shungrai, a Suakin resident and a tourist guide, told Xinhua.
"Many people believe that some of these animals are Gins, where it is not familiar to see a cat with two different eyes in color, one is red and the other blue. There is no a scientific explanation, but there are legends that are almost true," noted Shungrai.
The local government in Suakin is trying to utilize these legends associated with the city to make them means for tourist attraction.
"It is true that there are many legends associated with Suakin, and we are trying to make them means to attract the tourists to visit the city," Khalid Sa'dan, Commissioner of Suakin Locality, told Xinhua.
He pointed to the ongoing restoration of the archaeological buildings in Suakin conducted by the Turkish TIKA, saying "there is a deal between Sudan and Turkey to revive the archaeological city in Suakin and make a complete tourist zone."
Suakin lies on the western coast of the Red Sea, some 61 km south of Port-Sudan, the capital city of the Red Sea State, and some 780 km from the Sudanese capital Khartoum.
"Suakin is now gradually rising to restore its historical position as one of the oldest archaeological sites in Sudan," noted Sa'dan.
