Al-Fashir
Al Fashir, Al-Fashir or El Fasher () is the capital city of North Darfur, Sudan. It is a large town in the Darfur region of northwestern Sudan, northeast of Nyala, Sudan. A historical caravan post, Al-Fashir is located at an elevation of about . The town serves as an agricultural marketing point for the cereals and fruits grown in the surrounding region. Al-Fashir is linked by road with both Geneina and Umm Keddada. Al-Fashir had 264,734 residents , an increase from 2001, when the population was estimated to be 178,500. Due to the nearby Abu Shouk and  Al Salam IDP camps with the influx of humanitarian aid from the United Nations as a result of the Darfur crisis, the city has experienced a significant economic and population boom. Rents and retail sales increased, including the selling of bottled water and the opening of a pizza parlor to cater to the demand from western aid workers. The number of gas stations has tripled in three years as a result of the increase in the amount of automobiles in the city. Employment opportunities also increased as the United Nations offered jobs to citizens. Economics analyst Adam Ahmed stated that  the "people [of Al-Fashir] are beginning to think in a more business-minded way" to make the most of their situation. Al Fashir University was created in 1990 by decree of President Omar Hassan Ahmed Bashir, and was officially opened in February 1991 in premises west of El Fasher Airport and south of the El Fashir School. History. Late in the 18th century, Sultan 'Abd al-Rahman al-Rashed of the Darfur moved his itinerant court ("fashir") to a site called Rahad Tendelti, which soon took the name Al-Fashir. A town developed around the sultan's palace grounds . It was one of the cities Amelia Earhart visited while attempting to cross the world. Climate. Al-Fashir has a hot arid climate (Köppen "BWh") with three distinct seasons. There is a bone-dry and relatively "cool" season from October to February when temperatures are merely hot by afternoon and comfortable in the mornings, which gives way to a sweltering and equally arid "hot season" from March to May with high temperatures around and morning lows of . The Sahelian monsoon arrives in June and lasts until September, creating a short wet season that produces virtually all the year's rainfall  of around , accompanied by extremely unpleasant conditions with much higher humidity than during the remainder of the year.