'No. 64. View in Suakin, Caravanserai', Sudan, 1885 (c)

Photograph, 1885 (c).

The Caravanserai or wakala was a unique three storey building that provided accommodation for caravans of up to one hundred camels. The structure provided a safe and secure haven for merchants and travellers. It was built in 1881 by the merchant Shennawi Bey.

Suakin is a port on the Red Sea in the north east of Sudan. It was used as a base by British forces operating against the Mahdist supporters of Osman Digna in 1884. Major General Sir Gerald Graham commanded a small Anglo-Indian force at Suakin. As the British attempted to evacuate the Sudan, a number of hard fought battles including El Teb and Tamai were fought by the Suakin Field Force. When a force was despatched from Egypt to relieve General Charles Gordon at Khartoum, Graham commanded a second expedition to Suakin. A railway was to be constructed from Suakin to Berber to connect the two forces. The Suakin expeditionary forces defeated the Mahdists at Hashin and Tofrek in March 1885.

From an album of 72 photograph taken by the Royal Engineers with the Suakin Field Force, 1st Sudan War (1883-1885).