Khartoum (film) Underdown) is lured into the desert and slaughtered by Muslim zealots led by Muhammad Ahmad (Laurence Olivier), a fanatic Sudanese Arab who believes he is the Mahdi, the prophesied "saviour of humanity". The British Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone (Ralph Richardson), who does not wish to send more military forces to Khartoum, is under great pressure to send military hero Major General Charles George Gordon (Charlton Heston) there to salvage the situation and restore British prestige. Gordon has strong ties to Sudan, having broken the slave trade there in the past, but Gladstone distrusts him. Gordon has a reputation for
St. Matthew's Cathedral, Khartoum St. Matthew's Cathedral, Khartoum St. Matthew's Cathedral is a Christian religious building in Khartoum, which is the capital of Khartoum State and Sudan. The cathedral is located on the bank of the Blue Nile, next to the Mac Nimir Bridge. It is the seat of the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Khartoum, under the patronage of Saint Matthew the Apostle. This building almost resembles a fairy-tale castle with its various turrets, slender spires and a large rose window. The Apostolic Vicariate of Sudan or Central-Africa was erected here in 1846 under the primacy of Msgr. Annetto Casolani. A small church