The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-09-07
KHALIFA AND HIS CAPITAL.
The Lender of the DervIshes Has n
Sympathetic Arab Face"
From the Baltimore Sun.


"Sympathetic Arab Face"
From the Baltimore Sun.
The Khalifa, successor to the Mahdi
and the present ruler of the Soudan, is
described in detail by Slatin Pasha, in his
book Fire and Sword in the Soudan"
Slatin. formerly an officer under Gordon,
was for years a captive in Omdurman as
a slave to the dervish chief His des-
cription of the Khalifa was written at the
time Slatin, formerly Governor of Darfur,
was taken as a captive to the Deryish
camp in 1885. 1t is as follows:
The Khalifa soon came in and we at
once, rose. Selling my hand, he pressed
me TO his heart, saying, God be praised,
We are at last united How do you feel
after your firing journey Yes, indeed
l replied, God be praised for having
granted me to live to see this day! When
l beheld your countenance my fatigue at
once left me! l well knew that to win
his favor l must fiatter him as mucn as
possible He now gave his hand to Said
Bey and DimiTi to kiss and asked nov
they were.
Il scrutinized him very carefully; he
had a light brown complexion, a sympa-
thetic Arab face, on which the marks of
smallpox were still traceable, an aquiline
nose, a Well-shaped mouth, a slight mus
tache and a fringe of thin hair on his
was about middle height, neither thin nor
stout, was wearing jibba, (the Mahdists'
dress) covered with small, square patches
of different colors, and a Mecca takia, or
skull cap, round which was bound a cotton
turban; he generally spoke with smile
and showed a row of glistenng white
teeth"
In another portion of the same book,
speaking of Omdurman, the Dervish city,
Slatin Pasha says:
THE Khalifa has not moved out of ON
durham for upwards of ten years. There
he has centralized all power, stored up all
ammunition and gathered under his per
sonal surveillance all those whom he sus-
pects, obnsing them to say the five prayers
daily in his presence and listen to his ser
mons. He has declared Omdurman to be
the sacred city of the Mahdi. During his
lifetime the Mahdi had declared that ON
durham was merely a temporary camp, as
the prophet had revealed to him that he
should depart this life in Syria, after
conduering Egypt and Arabia, but his
early death had shattered all his plans
and the hopes of his followers.
From north to south the new city
covers a length of about six English miles.
1t is in no place over three miles in
width. At first it consisted of thousands
and thousands of straw huts, and the
mosque was originally an oblong inclosure
surrounded by mud wall 400 yards long
and $50 yards wide, but this has been re-
placed by one made of burnt brick and
then whitewashed over. After this the
Khalifa began building brick houses for
himself and his brother then for his rela-
tives, WhBe the emirs and most of the
wealthy people followed his example
"In order to show his veneration for the
Mahdi the Khalifa decided to erect mon
ument 10 him. A square building was
erected some thirty feet high and thirty
six feet each way, and the stone for this
construction, of which the walls were up
ward Of six feet thick, had to be brought
all the way from Khartoum. Above This a
hexagonal wall fifteen feet high was built,
from which rose dome forty feet high.
On the corners of the main building were
four smaller domes. This was called
Kubbett ell Mahd (Mahdrs dome) Ii was
finished with ten large, arched windows
ana two doors, and in the hexagonal por-
ton were six skylights. 1t was white
washed all over and surrounded by a trel-
liswork fence.
Directly beneath the dome and over
the Mahdis grave, a wooden sarcophagus
was erected covered with black cloth.
Above the apex of the dome are three
hollow brass balls one above the other.
connected with lance, the head of which
forms the top ornament of the structure
L have often heard people say that the
Khalifa erected this spear 10 show that he
is perfectly prepared to declare war
against the heavens if his wishes are not
carried out
South of the tomb, and adjoining the
great mosque, lies the enormous inclosrre
of the Khalifa. To the east of the
Khalifa's Enclosure lies the house of His
son. The Belt ell Amana, or arsenal, CON
sists of large building inclosed by stone
walls, and here are stored guns, ammuni-
ton and other warlike material. At in
ri
posted in small sentry boxes, and they
are charged to allow noeunauthorized per-
sons to enter the building.
just north of the arsenal lies a building
In which are stored the flags of all the
Emirs residing in Omdurman, and beside
il is a semicrcular building, about twenty
feet high, where the Khalifas war drums
are kept. A little further to the east is
the cartridge and small arms manufac-
tory. On the north side of the city, and
close TO the river, is the Belt ell Nal
(treasdry), which is an enormous walled
in iuciosure, subdivided into a variety Of
courts in which are stored goods coming
from all parts of the SOudan and from
Egypt, as well as grain stores and slave
courts. A little TO the south of the Belt
e Nal lies the public slave market, and
In close proximity the Belt ell Nal of the
Mulazemin (body guard has been erected.
'FThe town of Omdurman IS built for
The most part on fairly level ground. but
here and there are a few small hills. The
soil consists mostly of hard red clay, and
is very strong, with occasional patches of
sand For his own convenience the
Khalifa has driven large straight roads
through various parts of the town and TO
make way for these numbers of houses
were leveled but no compensation was
given to their owners"
-S-o-s-
Mcintosh Rice Crop.
McIntosh Ga Sent 6-Rice crnns 1vera