Gaddafi's Egg and the Madhi, Sudan, Day 300

There is a message for Christi and I in the lobby of our hotel, the Gobba, in Khartoum, which is something of a surprise since we don’t know anyone in this city. The message is from the office of Midhat Madir our Sudanese fixer with whom we have a love / hate relationship. We paid him an extortionate amount of money for travel permits to the Sudan (although whether these permits actually helped secure entry into the country is open to debate. Christi’s pharmacy experience, on the other hand, was invaluable). Then Midhat organized a car rental and driver and attempted to charge us over and above the agreed price, which was very annoying. Midhat was able to get a good deal for Christi and I on the Gobba hotel, and the hotel is fine. He even agreed to purchase bus tickets for our onward travel. The oppressive heat has forced us to curtail our exploration of Sudan and tomorrow we will take a public bus to the Ethiopian border. Anyway Midhat called to say that they have the tickets and they want to meet at Gaddafi’s Egg at noon. What the hell does that mean. The concierge at the Gobba hotel explains that Gaddafi’s Egg is the nickname given to the Burj Al-Fateh hotel (now known as the Corinthia) .

Gaddafi’s Egg is an US$80 million luxury hotel on the river near Al-Mogram (not sure how we missed it yesterday). It has a soaring, curved facade in the shape of a dhow (Arab sailing boat). It is a rough imitation of Dubai’s iconic Burj Al Arab – a telling reflection of Khartoum’s grand ambitions. There are 18 guest floors, 173 rooms and 57 suites, all offering panoramic views over the city and the Nile. The hotel has six restaurants and cafés and leisure facilities including spa, gym, tennis and squash courts. It also resembles London’s Gherkin, which may not be the image the current owners of the re-named Corinthia want to present to the world. It’s certainly different from any other building in the city and I’m surprised Midhat wants to meet here. I don’t think any of us could afford a cup of coffee let alone a room (the cheapest room is US$230 per night). We meet in the Nile River Cafe in the lobby. Midhat is pleased to see us and over expensive coffees he asks if we are enjoying Sudan (which we are) and the Gobba hotel (ditto). And the car and driver? Yes, yes everything is wonderful. Then he switches the conversation. He recently paid the car rental company for 6-days worth of car rental and gas even though Christi and I only agreed to a 4-day rental. ‘Perhaps you would be willing to pay at least one of the extra days[almost US$200]?’ he asks. ‘Err, no,’ I reply quite adamantly. He affects a look of despair, but I’m not going to be guilted into giving him extra money over and above the agreed upon price. The meeting becomes quite uncomfortable, but I’m not about to blink. I ask if he has our tickets for the bus ride to Gallabat (on the border with Ethiopia) tomorrow. Reluctantly he hands them over and I willingly pay up and even give him a little extra for his efforts. He does not appear mollified, but we shake hands and that ladies and gentlemen is the last we ever see of Midhat Madir. I think Midhat is basically a good guy, but if you work with him be sure to double and triple check the details.

Next (and with a little help from the locals) Christi and I take a minibus back to Omdurman to explore the Khalifa’s House and Museum, and then the nearby tomb of the Mahdi. Once again being in Omdurman takes me back to my childhood and a book I was given called ‘The Finding Out Book of Battles’. One of the battles featured was the Battle of Omdurman. The massacre of General Charles Gordon and the population of Khartoum by the Madhi (a Muslim term that means to rid the world of evil) and his Sudanese warriors in 1885 lead to uproar in England. The Mahdi had precious little time to enjoy his victory, however, dying 5 months later. His successor was the Khalifa who ruled until Britain finally retook Khartoum at the Battle of Omdurman on Sept 2nd 1898 under General Kitchener. It was a terribly miss-matched affair: maxim guns against spears and crocodile-hide shields. The Anglo-Egyptian forces lost 48 men, the Sudanese lost about 10,000 souls (Fast fact: a young Winston Churchill – later Britain’s leader during WWII – fought at Omdurman. Fast fact #2: Winston Churchill won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953). The Khalifa’s museum contains fascinating artefacts from the battle as well as pieces from the Madhiya period. The courtyard of the museum also features the original copula of the Madhi’s mausoleum, which was blown up by Kitchener after he reclaimed Sudan for the British in 1898. A replica of the Madhi’s mausoleum was built in 1947 and is located adjacent to the Khalifa’s house. Having relived the battle through the eyes of the Sudanese, we escape back to the sinful pleasures of air-con, TV, and cold sodas at the Gobbaa hotel. Tomorrow we face a little battle of our own: escaping Sudan by public transport. Here’s hoping it is easier to get out of Sudan than it was to get in.