Villages.Beyond Gedaref itself and the villages in its neighbourhood there are few others worth mentioning. Sofi, on the Atbara, is a largish Jaalin village under Sheikh Taib El Nimr. It was here that Sir Samuel and Lady Baker spent the rains of 1869 (vide “Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia”).
At Abu Gulud, between Sofi and Doka, and other villages in this neighbourhood a large quantity of grain is usually grown. Asar is the headquarters of the Debania tribe, now much reduced in numbers, and the residence of their Nazir Sheikh Wad Zaid.
On the Rahad the principal villages are Mafasa and Hawata. The former is the headquarters of the Mamur of this (Radah) district. Upstream of Hawata there are few inhabitants at present.
Section 3.—Gallabat and District.
General.The comparatively small area (about 1,200 square miles) bounded on the west by the River Rahad, on the north by Khor Seraf Said, the southern boundary of Gedaref Province, and on the east and south by the Abyssinian frontier, comprises the district of Gallabat. Practically the whole of this region is thickly wooded with talh, soffar, ebony, silag, ardeib, hashab, baobab, bamboo, and other trees, of which some attain considerable size; the central and south eastern portions are hilly, as is Gadabi and some of the country to the east of the Atbara.[65] In the vicinity of the town of Gallabat there are perennial streams of running water, but the greater part of the province is dependent on wells for its water supply.
Town.Gallabat town, called by the Abyssinians Matemma, is situated at the foot of a steep slope on the left bank of the Khor Abnaheir, which here constitutes the boundary with Abyssinia, and is about 5 miles from the Atbara which flows to the north and north-east.
Historical.The town has for a very long time been considered as forming an important trade centre on the Sudan-Abyssinian frontier, and the latter people used to lay claim to it. It was in consequence an almost constant source of feuds and fighting during the greater part of the last century between the Abyssinians and the Turks, and later with the Dervishes. It was formerly celebrated for its slave mart, and drove a prosperous trade. (Vide “Cradle of the Blue Nile,” vol. 2, p. 168.)
It was attacked by the Dervishes under Zeki Tumal in 1886, and sacked. Three years later King John of Abyssinia, burning with fury at the sack of Gondar by the Mahdists, collected his warriors and fought a tremendous battle here, with, it is asserted, 80,000 to 100,000 on either side, on 9th March, 1889. The Abyssinians, who outnumbered the Dervishes, at first were successful, but just as the Dervishes, on the following day, were giving way on all sides a stray shot wounded and subsequently killed King John. This completely reversed the situation, and the Abyssinians turned and fled (vide [p. 258.])
Its occupation by the Dervishes naturally resulted in the ruin of its trade, and this is only now beginning to revive. Robbers are, however, rife inside the Abyssinian frontier, and owing to that and other reasons, the revival is slow. The Anglo-Egyptian flags were hoisted at Gallabat on 7th December, 1898, by Colonel Collinson, C.B. The Abyssinian flag was then already flying on the fort.
Gallabat is said, before the Mahdia, to have been a comparatively large and busy trade centre. Looking at it now, it is difficult to believe that it can ever regain its pristine wealth and importance. The town, such as it is, with the exception of the Zabtia, etc., is built entirely of grass tukls. On the top of the slope overlooking the town there still remains the old Dervish fort built by Zeki Tumal. From here a very fine view is obtained away to the hills beyond the Atbara, and on a clear day one can see the mountains surrounding Lake Tsana. The hill pointed out as that on which King John was wounded lies 3 miles south-east, and that near which his body was captured is visible 10 miles further off.