This article is about the city. For the 1898 battle, seeBattle of Omdurman.
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Omdurman (Arabic:أم درمان,romanized: Umm Durmān) is a major city inSudan. It is the second most populous city in the country, located in theState of Khartoum. Omdurman lies on the west bank of theRiver Nile, opposite and northwest of the capital city ofKhartoum. The city acts as an important road hub, with the Nile boosting transportation even further.
In September 1898, the British army of twenty thousand well drilled men equipped with the latest arms,Maxim guns andMartini-Henry rifles under the command of General Horatio Herbert Kitchenerinvaded Sudan. In the battle of Omdurman, the British Army faced Sudanese defenders consisting of over 52,000 poorly armed desert tribesmen dervishes; in the space of five hours the battle was over. The Sudanese defenders suffered many casualties, with at least 10,000 killed. By contrast there were fewer than four hundred casualties on the British side with forty-eight British soldiers losing their lives. Then, General Kitchener proceeded to order the desecration ofthe Mahdi's tomb and in the words ofWinston Churchill, "carried off the Mahdi's head in a kerosene can as a trophy".[3]
Kitchener restored Khartoum as the capital and, from 1899 until 1956 Sudan was jointly governed by Great Britain and Egypt. Although most of the city was destroyed in the battle,the Mahdi's tomb was restored and refurbished.
Omdurman features a hotarid climate, with only the summer months seeing noticeable precipitation. The city averages a little over 155 millimetres (6.1 in) of precipitation per year. Based on annual mean temperatures, the city is one of the hottest major cities in the world. Temperatures routinely exceed 40 °C (104 °F) in mid-summer.
Its average annual high temperature is 37.1 °C (99 °F), with six months of the year seeing an average monthly high temperature of at least 38 °C (100 °F). Furthermore, throughout the year, none of its monthly average high temperatures falls below 30 °C (86 °F). During the months of January and February, while daytime temperatures are generally very warm, nights are relatively cool, with average low temperatures just above 15 °C (59 °F).
According to Sudanese officials, in 2005 a new airport facility had been proposed 30 miles (50 km) south of Omdurman. Arguably speaking to be within the non-defined boundaries of Omdurman, the project was estimated to be completed by 2012 with an estimated budget of $530 million.[13]Construction began in 2019 but as of 2021 had been suspended.[14]
Omdurman's location in the center of the country, almost within the national capital, facilitates its connection to all the capitals and cities of the various states of Sudan, by land via paved roads and seasonal roads. Within the city, transportation varies from yellow taxis, city buses, and other buses of various sizes, known as "buses." Three-wheeled motorcycles, known as "tuk-tuks" and known in Khartoum as "raqshas," are also used, in addition to trains and Nile ferries.[1]
Omdurman is one of the three capital cities and is therefore connected to Khartoum and Khartoum Bahri by several bridges built over the Blue and White Nile rivers.[15]
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