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Juba City

Juba, South Sudan

Archaeological evidence shows that a culture based upon cattle raising has been present in the area since 3000 BC.

The area of present-day Juba had various names in the past and the actual army post or trading post shifted locations many times. In 1862 the army post-Faloro, located somewhere south of present-day Nimule, was the southern limits of the Egyptian army control. Flora was supplied and controlled by the Garrison at Gondokoro, near present-day Juba. In 1863 Gondokoro was on the east bank of the Nile and on the island of Gondokoro, whereas today Juba is on the west bank of the Nile.

The Nile River, with Juba on the right bank. Gondokoro Island in mid-river. looking south.

In 1874 the newly appointed Governor of Equatoria, Charles Gordon, moved the army garrison to Lado, due to local tribes taking the Gondokoro Garrison's cattle and the soldier's bouts of Malaria, however, the river port was called Rejaf, which is just south of present-day Juba. In 1922 a group of Greek traders actually settled the location of modern Juba.

In the 1930s and 40s Juba was a base for the great flying boats that came down from Europe to Cairo and onward to South Africa. The aircraft would land in the Nile River to refuel.

Imperial Airways flying boat in the Nile River at Khartoum about 1930. Today Kenya Airways, Fly Dubai, Ethiopian Airlines, and Rwanda Air all fly into the Juba International Airport with daily flights from Nairobi, Dubai, Entebbe, Kigali, and Addis.

After the peace accords were signed between Northern Sudan and Southern Sudan in 2005, the town started to explode with people coming from all over the world. Merchants from Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, South Africa, England, France, Greece, the USA, China, Korea, U.A.E. all came to Juba to build a new nation and seek their fortunes. Hotels, restaurants, and shops sprung up, often overnight. Pre-fabricated buildings were shipped north. Water purification plants were built.

The country was given the international country code for phoning 211. Airlines added Juba to their routes. Daily tanker trucks come north from Mombasa (a 3000-kilometer trip roundtrip) bringing gasoline and diesel for vehicles and jet fuel for aircraft, to this oil-rich nation, without a refinery. A new airport terminal is under construction. The road to Nimule and the Ugandan border has been rebuilt and paved.

North of Juba is the great Sudd swamp. A swamp the size of Great Britain is considered the largest in the world. Here a river barge passes through the swamp in the Nile River channel.

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