“ The Khalifa's house (a two-storeyed building) , the mosque, the Beit el Amana (arsenal) and other houses famed in the history of the town also face the central square. A high wall runs behind these buildings parallel with the Nile. Omdurman is the headquarters of the native traders in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, the chief articles of commerce being ivory, ostrich feathers and gum arabic from Darfur and Kordofan. There is also an important camel and cattle market. Nearly every tribe in the Sudan is represented in the population of the city. ”