Ohrwalder's arrival in Omdurman--His first impressions of the Dervish capital--Khalifa Abdullah's intentions to conquer Egypt--Wad Suleiman of the beit el mal--Wad Adlan succeeds--Gordon's clothes, medals, &c.--Adlan reorganizes the beit el mal--The slave market, museum, mint, and system of coinage--Counterfeit coining--The lithograph press--The Khalifa's system of justice. 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 Formerly the mosque consisted merely of a square enclosure, surrounded by a hedge; but this had now been replaced by a wall of sun-dried bricks.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.