"Victory Park" Al Ubayyid Things to Do Tip by mafi_moya

Victory Park is is quite a good social place at night (see nightlife) and it's named after the Mahdi's defeat of the Anglo-Egyptian forces of Hicks Pasha.

The Mahdi's nationalist and religious forces captured El Obeid in January 1883. With a large following in the area they quickly turned it into their capital and the base for their uprising. Sensing the importance of the town the Egyptian rulers sent British officer William Hicks to lead a force to regain El Obeid after he'd led a successful campaign in the town of Sennar south of Khartoum.

This task was a bit bigger though and after nearly dying of thirst on the way over the Kordofan desert, Hicks' mostly Egyptian soldiers were ambushed just south of El Obeid. Nearly all 7000 of his force were killed and Hicks himself was speared to death and then had his head cut off.

It was a very important battle - the Mahdi went from strength to strength and eventually mounted a successful assault on Khartoum. The park in the centre of El Obeid is named in memory of the fighting nearby.