The next morning—the 26th of April, 1886—we rose covered with dust from head to foot, and by the time we had got under way again, the sun was already high in the heavens, and was unusually hot. This was the worst season of the year. The first place we came to was the Mahdi's old camp, which was marked by a line of mud walls. From this position the fort of Omdurman had been besieged, and innumerable human and animal bones marked the site of this long-sustained conflict. To our right lay the White Nile, flowing between its green banks, beyond it the Blue Nile could just be seen, and the ruins of Khartum were visible behind the thick belt of palm-trees.
Emerging from the arid deserts of Kordofan, the Nile with its green banks was a most refreshing sight; on the other hand, the view of Khartum in ruins awakened the saddest recollections. Of the vast crowd which had beset Gordon on every side, some were scattered far and wide, while others had settled down around their new master in Omdurman. The little hill on the west bank just opposite to the junction of the two Niles was called Omdurman, hence the name of the Mahdiist capital. Previous to the revolt, there had been merely a few huts; but it was always considered a place of importance, as the hills in the vicinity supplied lime and stone in quantities for building works in Khartum. In those days, the lime-pits were in Omdurman, and the place where the Mahdiist capital now stands was a thick and thorny bush—the abode of the Batahin robbers.
What a change had now taken place! From the old fort at the south end, right up to Khor Shambat, and even further, the new capital extends, a countless conglomeration of straw huts (tokuls), surrounded by small zaribas; here and there a few mud huts, some of which, larger than the others, denote the residences of the Khalifas and principal emirs—they are looked upon as palaces.
Formerly the mosque consisted merely of a square enclosure, surrounded by a hedge; but this had now been replaced by a wall of sun-dried bricks. In the distance we could see the galvanised-iron mosque where the Mahdi used to perform prayers. The Mahdi's original camp had been situated some kilometres' distance to the north of the fort, where the plain widens out.
On our arrival we at once made inquiries about the market, and sought news of the other Europeans. The market was a sort of maze, and arranged with no idea of system. Merchants never left their goods there over-night; but always took them to their own houses. A Greek had made a bakery, and drove a good trade, as long as people had money to buy. There were such crowds of people that it was almost impossible to make one's way through; there were quantities of provisions for sale, and trade seemed very lively. Egyptian merchants brought their goods as far as Ed Damer, whence they were brought by Arab merchants to Omdurman. The only tax levied by the Khalifa's order was 2-1/2 per cent. zekka (i.e. alms for the poor), and people seemed generally contented and happy. There were quantities of money in the beit el mal, and at that time there was no occasion to oppress the inhabitants.
There were numbers of Greeks, Jews, and Syrians, all of whom were doing fairly well in business. I also saw Klootz. Slatin at that time happened to be absent, he was commanding some troops under the Emir Yunis at Wad el Abbas.
Khalifa Abdullah was full of ideas of conquest and pretensions; he used often to announce publicly that the end of the Turks' rule in Egypt was approaching. He was most anxious to obtain possession of that country, and thought the time had now come. Several of the sheikhs and ulemas in Cairo and in other parts of Egypt had written to him inviting him to take possession of the country where, they assured him, he would be most cordially received.
The Mahdi's summons and proclamations were sent in all directions. Pilgrims arrived from Samarkand, Bokhara, India, and Mecca, to examine Mahdieh with their own eyes. All this tended to make Abdullah more desirous than ever to conquer Egypt. He despatched Nejumi and his men to Dongola, whilst Yunis was instructed to collect all the men he could in the Gezireh. Sherif Mahmud's followers were also sent to Dongola; thus did Abdullah dispose of the adherents of those emirs whom he knew to be hostile to him. Zogal once arrested, Abdullah had now little to fear. Hitherto he had treated his two brother Khalifas, and the Ashraf and Danagla with the utmost respect; but now he conducted himself in a very different manner, and could not bear to have anyone in the smallest degree associated with him who was of almost equal rank; he therefore did all in his power to weaken the opposition party, and to increase the influence of his own party. The first blow he struck fell on Ahmed Wad Suleiman, emin of the beit el mal. The day that we arrived in Omdurman he was put in chains, and his house and the beit el mal were put under guards. Wad Suleiman had been one of the Mahdi's most fanatical adherents, and whenever he passed the Mahdi's tomb he used to stretch out his hands and weep like a child—indeed he had every reason to do so, for the Mahdi had raised him from a low position to a post of great honour, and the thought of losing this position distressed him greatly.
Suleiman's wheel of fortune had come round at a good time, when the amount of money in the beit el mal was considerable. The immense quantities of loot taken at El Obeid, Shikan, Khartum, Sennar, and Berber, had all passed through his hands, and any Dervish who was in need of anything always came to him, and in this way he acquired great influence. Since the Mahdi's death there had been great enmity between Suleiman and Abdullah, and on the pretext of examining the accounts, Abdullah had him arrested, and intended to send him away, while he appointed Mohammed Osman (Zogal's son) in his place.
In Suleiman's house some 5,000 grammes of unstamped gold was found, and it is more than probable that this was but a small portion of what he had previously appropriated. He was therefore thrown into chains, where he remained for a year and more. A month after his arrest, a certain Ibrahim Wad Adlan, of Wad Medina, on the Blue Nile, and sometime merchant in El Obeid, was appointed emin beit el mal. He had frequently been in Cairo, was a pleasant-looking man, and had enlightened ideas. At one time, when a dispute arose between the commercial house of Arbib in Cairo, and their two partners in El Obeid, Adlan had been nominated arbitrator by the Cairo house. He had for long remained loyal to the Government, and had stayed in El Obeid until it fell into the hands of the Mahdi, who permitted him—as a special favour—to keep 2,000 of the 30,000 dollars he then had.