Sudan has more - though smaller - pyramids than Egypt, but attracted only about 700,000 tourists in 2018 compared to some 10 million in its northern neighbor.

Conflicts and crises under veteran ruler Omar al-Bashir, a tough visa regime and a lack of roads and decent hotels outside Khartoum have made Sudan an unlikely tourist destination.

But Bashir lost power in April, and the new civilian transition government is easing visa rules to attract more visitors with their hard currency to places such as the Royal Pyramids of Meroe. A film crew was shooting a promotional video for a travel agency in Khartoum.

Like the Egyptians, the Nubian Kush dynasty that ruled in the area some 2,500 years ago buried members of the royal family in pyramid tombs.

Near Meroe's pyramids lie an array of temples with ancient drawings of animals and the ancient city of Naga, and there are more pyramids further north at Jebel Barka.