The land no country wants
Bir Tawil is the last truly unclaimed land on earth. It’s a small piece of Africa with no government, no permanent residents, and no governing laws. This piece of land has an area of more than 2000 square kilometers, located between the border of Egypt and Sudan.
Bir Tawil is a wasteland of absolutely nothing
To reach this derelict land is of course not easy. First, you have to fly to the Sudanese capital Khartoum, rent a jeep, and follow the hundreds of miles of Shendi road to Abu Hamed, a settlement dating back to the ancient Kush kingdom. You need to drive through a series of plantations, bewildered to the point of occasional scattered shrubs or palm trees that have long since disappeared and given way to a flat, seemingly endless horizon of sand. and stone. When nothing could be seen, it was Bir Tawil.
Both countries may have claimed Bir Tawil – Egypt and Sudan, having renounced their claim to the land and no other government having any jurisdiction over it.
The reason why no country wants Bir Tawil is quite complicated. This place is mainly land and sand, with absolutely no roads, population or natural resources, so establishing sovereignty does not bring any economic benefits.
Bir Tawil and Hala’ib are located on the map, the border between Egypt and Sudan is a straight line
It is worth mentioning that next to Bir Tawil is a much larger triangular piece of land named Hala’ib. This land is also sandy and rocky, but is geographically located near the Red Sea, so it has economic value if exploited. Both Egypt and Sudan want to own Hala’ib. But according to the border line, each country can only have Bir Tawil or Hala’ib, but cannot claim both. Since the battle for Hala’ib was not over yet, it was clear that neither side wanted to capture Bir Tawil.
Visitors have the right to claim to be their own owners
Bir Tawil’s ownership creates an interesting principle: Everyone has the right to claim to be its owner if they want, but of course no one recognizes it. In June 2014, a 38-year-old farmer from Virginia (USA) named Jeremiah Heaton came up with this crazy idea. After receiving the necessary paperwork from the Egyptian military authority, he embarked on a dangerous 14-hour expedition through remote gorges and jagged mountains, eventually reaching the no-man’s land. Bir Tawil and triumphantly planted the flag.
Jeremiah Heaton holds a self-designed Bir Tawil flag
Heaton’s 6-year-old daughter, Emily, once asked her father if she could become a real princess. After discovering Bir Tawil’s existence on the Internet, Jeremiah decided to give this meaningful birthday present to his son. When she became the king of Bir Tawil, Emily was also a princess.
Heaton wrote on his Facebook page: “I declare that Bir Tawil will forever be known as the Kingdom of North Sudan. The kingdom was established as a sovereign monarchy with me as head of state; and Emily became a real princess.”
Before that, many tourists came here to “claim the king” as an interesting experience
Heaton’s social media posts were discovered by a local Virginia newspaper, the Bristol Herald-Courier, and quickly became a tool to engage users around the world. CNN, Time, Newsweek and hundreds of other global media covered the story. Heaton responded by launching a global crowdfunding call of $250,000 to build his new “kingdom”. Of course, this attempt later failed because no one seemed to recognize Jeremiah Heaton’s “coronation”. He himself just considers it an enjoyable experience.
Source: The Guardian, CNN Travel
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