View source for Place:Al-Fashir

{{Infobox settlement
<!--See the Table at Infobox Settlement for all fields and descriptions of usage-->
<!-- Basic info  ---------------->
|official_name          = Al-Fashir
|other_name             =
|native_name            =  الفاشر
|nickname               = 
|settlement_type        = Town
|motto                  =
<!-- images and maps  ----------->
|image_skyline          = Sudan Envoy - Darfur from above.jpg
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|image_caption          = Aerial view of Al-Fashir
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|pushpin_map_caption    =Location in Sudan
<!-- Location ------------------>
|subdivision_type       = Country
|subdivision_name       = [[Image:Flag of Sudan.svg|25px]] Sudan
|subdivision_type1      = State
|subdivision_name1      = North Darfur
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|subdivision_name2      = 
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|population_as_of               = 2009
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|population_total               = 500,000<ref name=UNH/>
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'''al-Fashir''' or '''El Fasher''' ({{lang-ar|الفاشر|translit=al-Fāshir}}) is the capital city of North Darfur, Sudan. It is a large town in the Darfur region of northwestern Sudan, {{convert|195|km}} northeast of [[Place:Nyala, Sudan|Nyala, Sudan]].
<ref name=EBal>
    [http://p2.www.britannica.com/eb/article-9033796/Al-Fashir "Al-Fashir" (description)]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }},
    ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'', 2007, webpage:
</ref>  
A historical caravan post, Al-Fashir is located at an elevation of about {{convert|700|m}}.<ref name=EBal/> 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 [[Place:Geneina|Geneina]] and Umm Keddada. Al-Fashir had 264,734 residents {{asof|2006|alt=as of 2006}}, an increase from 2001, when the population was estimated to be 178,500.<ref name=EBal/> UN Habitat reported a population of 500,000 for al-Fashir in 2009, attributing the increase to refugees and economic migrants.<ref name=UNH>{{cite web |title=Profile of El Fasher Town and Abu Shouk IDP Camp |url=https://unhabitat.org/sites/default/files/download-manager-files/El%20Fasher%20and%20Abu%20Shouk%20Profile.pdf |publisher=UN Habitat |access-date=December 6, 2023}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.fashir.edu.sd/
 |title=History of the University
 |publisher=Al Fashir University
 |access-date=15 September 2011
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111020201144/http://www.fashir.edu.sd/
 |archive-date=20 October 2011
 |url-status=dead
 }}</ref>

== History ==
Late in the 18th century, Sultan Abd al-Rahman al-Rashid of the Sultanate of Darfur moved his itinerant court (''fashir'') to a site called Rahad Tendelti while campaigning in the region of northern Darfur as it was a superb spot for a settlement and grazing, eventually the site was renamed to al-Fashir.<ref>{{Cite book |first=Donald |last=Crummey |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/52601158 |title=Land, literacy and the state in Sudanic Africa |date=2005 |publisher=Red Sea Press |isbn=1-56902-182-1 |oclc=52601158}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Famine That Kills: Darfur |url=https://archive.org/details/faminethatkillsd00dewa |url-access=registration |last=de Waal |first=Alex |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Cary, NC |year=2005 |page=[https://archive.org/details/faminethatkillsd00dewa/page/60 60]}}</ref> A town developed around the sultan's palace grounds.<ref name=EBal/> It was one of the cities Amelia Earhart visited while attempting to circumnavigate the world.<ref>Vizard, Frank (February 1997) "On Earhart's Wings" ''Popular Science'' 250(2): pp. 50–52, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZYFWnd7vVZcC&pg=PA51 page 51]</ref>

In April 2023, the town saw the Battle of El Fasher.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Salih |first=Zeinab Mohammed |last2=Michaelson |first2=Ruth |date=2023-05-01 |title=Medics in Sudan warn of crisis as health system near collapse |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/01/medics-in-sudan-warn-of-crisis-as-health-system-near-collapse |access-date=2023-05-08 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

== Climate ==
Al-Fashir has a [[Earth:Desert climate#Hot desert climates|hot arid climate]] ([[Earth:Köppen climate classification|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 cool in the mornings, which gives way to a sweltering and equally arid "hot season" from March to May with high temperatures around {{convert|38|C|F|1|disp=or}} and morning lows of {{convert|21|C|F|1|disp=or}}. The [[Place:Sahel|Sahel]]ian [[Earth:Monsoon|monsoon]] arrives in June and lasts until September, creating a short wet season that produces virtually all the year's rainfall of around {{convert|210|mm|in|1|disp=or}}, accompanied by extremely unpleasant conditions with much higher humidity than during the remainder of the year.

{{Weather box
 | width       = auto
 | collapsed   = yes
 | metric first = yes
 | single line = yes
 | location    = Al-Fashir (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1961–2020)
 | Jan record high C = 39.5
 | Feb record high C = 41.0
 | Mar record high C = 42.2
 | Apr record high C = 43.0
 | May record high C = 46.3
 | Jun record high C = 44.2
 | Jul record high C = 41.7
 | Aug record high C = 43.5
 | Sep record high C = 41.5
 | Oct record high C = 40.0
 | Nov record high C = 38.4
 | Dec record high C = 36.7
 | year record high C = 46.3
 | Jan high C = 29.5
 | Feb high C = 32.5
 | Mar high C = 35.5
 | Apr high C = 38.2
 | May high C = 39.2
 | Jun high C = 38.9
 | Jul high C = 36.3
 | Aug high C = 34.1
 | Sep high C = 35.9
 | Oct high C = 36.2
 | Nov high C = 33.1
 | Dec high C = 30.1
 | year high C = 35.0
 | Jan mean C = 20.3
 | Feb mean C = 23.0
 | Mar mean C = 26.3
 | Apr mean C = 29.4
 | May mean C = 31.3
 | Jun mean C = 31.7
 | Jul mean C = 30.1
 | Aug mean C = 28.5
 | Sep mean C = 29.4
 | Oct mean C = 28.8
 | Nov mean C = 24.3
 | Dec mean C = 21.0
 | year mean C = 27.0
 | Jan low C = 11.1
 | Feb low C = 13.6
 | Mar low C = 17.1
 | Apr low C = 20.6
 | May low C = 23.5
 | Jun low C = 24.5
 | Jul low C = 23.9
 | Aug low C = 22.9
 | Sep low C = 22.9
 | Oct low C = 21.3
 | Nov low C = 15.6
 | Dec low C = 11.8
 | year low C = 19.1
|Jan record low C = 0.7
|Feb record low C = 1.4
|Mar record low C = 6.5
|Apr record low C = 8.2
|May record low C = 12.8
|Jun record low C = 15.7
|Jul record low C = 15.6
|Aug record low C = 13.5
|Sep record low C = 15.0
|Oct record low C = 7.1
|Nov record low C = 5.6
|Dec record low C = 2.0
|year record low C = 0.7
 | precipitation colour = green
 | Jan precipitation mm = 0
 | Feb precipitation mm = 0
 | Mar precipitation mm = 0
 | Apr precipitation mm = 1
 | May precipitation mm = 6.5
 | Jun precipitation mm = 16.4
 | Jul precipitation mm = 60
 | Aug precipitation mm = 102.9
 | Sep precipitation mm = 28.9
 | Oct precipitation mm = 3.8
 | Nov precipitation mm = 0
 | Dec precipitation mm = 0
 | year precipitation mm = 219.5
 | unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm
 | Jan precipitation days = 0
 | Feb precipitation days = 0
 | Mar precipitation days = 0
 | Apr precipitation days = 0.2
 | May precipitation days = 0.8
 | Jun precipitation days = 2.2
 | Jul precipitation days = 6.1
 | Aug precipitation days = 8.8
 | Sep precipitation days = 3.4
 | Oct precipitation days = 0.6
 | Nov precipitation days = 0
 | Dec precipitation days = 0
 | year precipitation days = 22
 | Jan humidity = 24
 | Feb humidity = 19
 | Mar humidity = 16
 | Apr humidity = 17
 | May humidity = 23
 | Jun humidity = 32
 | Jul humidity = 47
 | Aug humidity = 57
 | Sep humidity = 44
 | Oct humidity = 28
 | Nov humidity = 24
 | Dec humidity = 24
 | year humidity = 30
 | Jan sun = 306.9
 | Feb sun = 274.4
 | Mar sun = 291.4
 | Apr sun = 282.0
 | May sun = 266.6
 | Jun sun = 231.0
 | Jul sun = 213.9
 | Aug sun = 213.9
 | Sep sun = 237.0
 | Oct sun = 285.2
 | Nov sun = 306.0
 | Dec sun = 313.1
 | year sun = 3221.4
 | source 1 = [[Organization:National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|NOAA]]<ref name="WMONormals">{{cite web
|url = https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/2.2/data/0-data/Region-1-WMO-Normals-9120/Sudan/CSV/ElFasher_62760.csv
|title = World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991-2020 — al-Fashir
|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
|access-date = January 21, 2024}}</ref><ref name= NOAA1961>{{cite web
| url = ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/RA-I/SU/62760.TXT
| title = El Fasher (Al-Fashir) Climate Normals 1961–1990
| publisher = [[Organization:National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]]
| access-date = 17 January 2016}}</ref>
}}

==Economy==
Due to the nearby Abu Shouk<ref>Mitchell, Andrea (2007) ''Talking Back...to Presidents, Dictators, and Assorted Scoundrels'' (2nd edition) Penguin Books, New York, [https://books.google.com/books?id=aG4Qfc9gcfAC&pg=PR41 page ''xli''], {{ISBN|978-0-14-303873-3}}</ref> and Al Salam<ref>[http://www.unsudanig.org/library/mapcatalogue/darfur/data/camps/Map%201300%20SU-DAR-CAMP-55_A1_01Feb09_North_Darfur_AbuShouk_AlSalam_Camps_V2.pdf "Northern Darfur: Abu Shouk and Al Salam IDP Camps"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723173935/http://www.unsudanig.org/library/mapcatalogue/darfur/data/camps/Map%201300%20SU-DAR-CAMP-55_A1_01Feb09_North_Darfur_AbuShouk_AlSalam_Camps_V2.pdf |date=23 July 2011 }} map, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Date Created: 1 February 2009</ref> 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.<ref>Sanders, Edmund. [http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-aidtown30apr30,0,4922479.story?page=1 A Darfur capital is a humanitarian boomtown], ''Los Angeles Times'', 2008-04-30.</ref>

== See also ==
* Chad – border country near [[Place:Nyala, Sudan|Nyala, Sudan]].
* History of Darfur

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://i-cias.com/sudan/fasher.htm Adventures of Sudan: Al-Fashir]
* [http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=627600 Historical weather for Al-Fashir]
{{-}}


[[Category:State capitals in Sudan]]

{{Sourceattribution|Al-Fashir}}