I was whisked off to the Palace…I am now writing from the place and you may imagine my feelings at the splendour. My people are all dazed! and so am I, and wish for my camel.
-Gordon, Letter Home from Cairo, After 3 years in Sudan, March 7, 1878
We made a quick stop at a hotel in Aswan when we got off the Wadi Halfa ferry, with little time to shower and shave and still get to Binban before the herd pulled into Ahmad Abd al-Majid’s straw barn there from the last miles of the Darb. I remember hot water and shampoo, clean towels and soap. We went to the restaurant buffet, all-you-can-eat, package tour style. I forget how much we ate, maybe very little, maybe a salad, maybe a strip of bacon or two. We knew that in Binban there would be much more Aseeda.