British traveler monitors Egypt`s oldest places of hospitality to tourists since 175 years ago

The oldest Arab Egypt`s Hotels (Part I)

"A cup of tea in the afternoon, or at sunrise on the banks of the Nile.. Horse tour amid desert sands; explore the secrets of the pyramids and their guardian Sphinx.. Fancy dinner on Cairo night tango music resounding.. Discover the charm of East of Cairo history.. and don`t worry where the most beautiful and oldest befit hotels".

 

Those were the most important paragraph in the book of "Andrew Humphreys", British author and journalist, "Great Egypt Hotels: The golden age of tourism", issued by the American University polishing early 1990s, when a visitor came to Egypt for the first time in 1988, city Hotels found a mixture between modern western and classical antiquity, what made it a headline attracts tourist of civilization rooted for more than 7000 years.

The fact that "Andrew Humphreys" wasn`t just British lover to visit Egypt, but he loved everything Egyptian, first of its kind under the heading "National Geographic Egypt", in addition to a number of manuals on tourist areas in Cairo, he also participated in the founding and chairing "Cairo Times", interested Egyptian Affairs.

 

"Great Egypt Hotels: The golden age of tourism" book, features a collection of a rare pictures of a large number of hotels that were built during the second half of 19th century, he said that period specially witnessed world passion of ancient Egyptian civilization, after the start of the study and understand ancient hieroglyphs especially, as visitors to the land of the Pharaohs were pilgrims seeking always fact that civilization rooted, or novelists seeking a story inspired by the beauty of the Nile and the mystery of the desert, or an artist his inspiration hunts between Aswan, Cairo, and Alexandria attractions, so it gathered most of the hotels that mixture between modern and classical antiquity.

Firstling

 

The story began after the departure of the last French soldier in 1801, that campaign was failed military, but it worked on scientific level, so returned to France more than 160 scientist and researcher to present for the world all knew about Egypt, " Egypt Describe", issued during the period , from 1809 to 1812, making West in passion, following the success of Champollion to decipher the Rosetta Stone, both were visiting Egypt returns to his country for writing a book about it, Egypt has been inspiration for brains.

The list is too long, comprised chiefly of British orientalist "Edward William Lane", and his book "The Manners & Customs of the Modern Egyptians", the great Scottish painter "David Roberts", and his writing "Egypt and Nubia", in addition to the most beautiful paintings drawn from Egypt, Kavalalı Mehmet Ali Paşa; Khedive of Egypt, his front panel in Alexandria, the aristocratic English writer " Lucie, Lady Duff-Gordon", and made her famous by her letters from Egypt, then she joined those letters into a book called " Letters from Cairo', finally, the book that made the different according to the perspective " A thousand miles up the Nile", for the novelist, journalist and traveler British " Amelia Edwards", " Thomas Cook & his son trip in Egypt" book, which " Thomas Cook", British businessmen, succeeded to established the first tourist company in Egypt and the Middle East.

"Andrew Humphreys" devoted an entire chapter on Egypt's oldest tourist hotels; it might have to rely on official Gazette and British information center, he said he`s got some information, that will change the history of some hotels, " Winter Place" hotel in Luxor, for example, it knows that was opening in 1886, it combines a restaurant bearing the same date, but the Egyptian Gazette affirms that the opening ceremony was in June 1907.

 

Alexandria Hotels.

 

As Alexandria was always the first interface for any visitors to Egypt, its hotels was the first station on "Andrew Humphreys" book, which began with the most famous ever, Hotel and Casino san Stefano, held at the Palace of count "Istvan Zezenia" in 1887, " (Bogos Nubar) architect designed model of the Egyptian Prime Minister (Nubar Pasha) `s son, the architect for Resorts South of France entertainment, then from the tourist attractions of the city, but in the early 20th century to the city pool parlous wealthy public figures of the Royal family.

"Cecil" Hotel, one other traditional hotels, but its more luxurious in early last century, overlooking the Nile corniche,  designed by the Italian architect "Giuseppe Alessandro Laurie" born in Mansoura, Egypt 1888, so he designed a Florentine-style which characterizes the city, opening in 1929, the German was the first rich owners "Albert Metzger", which called "Cecil", as his son name, often associated with the world of writers, where the list of gusts to famous literature, Agatha Christie, Somerset Maugham, and Evelyn Waugh, for example, either Lawrence Darryl ,his novel "The Alexandria Quartet", revolving all events conquered walls hotel, and other ancient figures.

"Andrew Humphreys" don`t forget in his book a large number of hotels with history, "Rialto" Hotel and Casino, of course on the head, located in Stanly Beach, " Windsor" Hotel, "San Giovanni" Hotel and Restaurant in Stanly, " Mecure Romance" and "Four Season" Hotel, opened by Khedive Tawfiq, a quarter century before was just a huge Church of count Etienne or Istvan Zezenia, "Majestic" Hotel, opened to audience in 1915, which famous English novelist " Edward Morgan Foster" spent, it began its exploration of the booming city, who later wrote about in early 20s, his very important book " Alexandria: a history and guide", even today, tourist come to the field researchers from the building which spend the great writer in it.

Egyptian Site & magazine