Kempinski to open nine hotels this year

Kempinski Hotels is set to open nine new properties this year — including two in Saudi Arabia and one in Egypt — as part of the group’s expansion strategy in the Middle East.

The Kempinski Al Othman Hotel in Al Khobar and the Kempinski Hotel Burj Rafal in Riyadh are both scheduled to open before the year ends, along with the Kempinski Hotel Royal Maxim Cairo in Egypt. Another hotel, the Kempinski Hotel in Jeddah, is scheduled to open in 2015.

The luxury hospitality group sees the region as a key growth area and an important market for outbound tourism to its properties across the world.

“The Kempinski Hotel Royal Maxim will predominately cater to corporate and Mice [meetings, incentives, conferencing and exhibitions] business, as well as major social events as it will have the largest pillar-less ballroom in Cairo. It will be our second hotel in Cairo and it is located in New Cairo, which is close to Cairo International Airport and the American University of Cairo,” said Avsar Koc, Kempinski regional sales director for India, Middle East and Africa.

Kempinski Nile Hotel Cairo
Photo: Kempinski Nile Hotel

Kempinski Nile Hotel

 

Enhanced by strong growth in the Middle East, Africa, and South-east Asia, Kempinski was able to increase its room revenue by 21 per cent in tandem with a 17 per cent increase in total room nights sold globally. The region contributes almost a third of the revenues for the company, which currently operates a total of 75 five-star hotels in 30 countries. Kempinski returned to Jeddah this week with its seventh annual Middle East Road Show, where they revealed that the group had achieved its best financial results in its history in 2012, with revenues reaching €1.1 billion.

“We have turned Kempinski around from an almost-bankrupt business into a rock-solid one with an equity ratio of well over 40 per cent. With a revenue of €1.1 billion, our hotels passed the billion mark for the first time last year,” said Reto Wittwer, chief executive of Kempinski Hotels.

“As a hotel operator, this makes us a strong and reliable partner for hotel investors and owners. We will continue to plan and work on a long-term basis… Our success proves we are on the right track.”

The Middle East remains a key feeder market for Kempinski hotels in Europe and Asia, such as the Hotel Vier Jaherszeiten Kempinski Munich, the Kempinski Grand Hotel des Bains St Moritz, the Ciragan Palace Kempinski Istanbul, and the Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok. Likewise, hotels such as Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi and Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates in Dubai remain popular with Middle East guests.

The Kempinski Al Othman Hotel in Al Khobar will have 141 rooms, 57 suites and 20 serviced apartments. The Kempinski Hotel Burj Rafal will be located in Saudi Arabia’s tallest tower and upon completion will boast 300 luxury guest rooms and suites. The Kempinski Hotel Royal Maxim Cairo in Egypt will feature 248 rooms and suites.

Easter and Sham El Nessim deals at InterContinental Cairo Citystars, Holiday Inn Cairo and Staybridge suites

Have you booked your Easter holiday yet? If not, InterContinental chain is offering lucrative packages in Cairo to celebrate the season

InterContinental Cairo Citystars offers Easter room packages including buffet breakfast and parking at EGP 1100 for a single room, EGP 1200 for double and EGP 1300 for triple room including taxes with an extra EGP 100 supplement for Pool Side rooms.

Facade of InterContinental Citystars Cairo Hotel

Lobby of InterContinental Citystars Cairo Hotel

 

One of the luxurious room at InterContinental Citystars Hotel Cairo

InterContinental Residence Suites offer a fabulous choice for families, with a variety of cozy studios and 1 to 3 bedroom apartments. You can book a studio at EGP 1150 for single occupancy, EGP 1250 for double and 1350 for triple. Also, you can book a one bedroom suite at EGP 1350 for single occupancy, EGP1550 for double and EGP1650 for triple; two bedroom suite at EGP 2200 for double occupancy and EGP 2350 for triple or a three bedroom suite at EGP 3100, including breakfast and free parking for one car. Minimum stay is two nights

If you want to celebrate Easter at cheaper rate, then you can stay at Holiday Inn Citystars, where you can book a single room at EGP 699 or a double room at EGP 749 including buffet breakfast, parking for one car and taxes.

Holiday Inn Citystars facade

A room at Holiday Inn Citystars Cairo

 

Staybridge Suites offer 140 suites including studios, two and three bedroom suites

Staybridge suites facade

Staybridge suites pool

 

Each suite has a fully-equipped kitchen where guests can prepare their own meals, state-of-the-art entertainment and communications, including complimentary WiFi throughout. You can book a studio at EGP 799 for single occupancy, EGP 849 for double and EGP 899 for triple. You can also book a one bedroom suite at EGP 1050 for single occupancy, EGP 1150 for double and EGP 1200 for triple; a two bedroom suite at EGP 1750 for double occupancy and EGP 1850 for triple or a three bedroom suite at EGP 2300. All prices include taxes, breakfast, free parking and a complimentary upgrade subject to availability. All rates above are for Egyptians and residents only

For booking call 24800100

On Sham El Nessim Day, InterContinental Cairo Citystars hotel, will offer a sumptuous Easter buffet by the pool, accompanied by live entertainment and DJ from 12pm till 5pm, in addition to kids buffet corner and kids activities all at EGP 280 plus service charge and taxes

For booking call 2800009

 

 

 

 

Archaeologists Uncover Rare Leather Fragments from Ancient Egyptian Chariot

Nearly 300 leather fragments from an ancient Egyptian chariot, believed to date back to the New Kingdom, have been recently uncovered from the depths of the Egyptian Museum by a team of renowned archaeologists. Studying the technology and resources utilized in the building of such chariots, the team aims to reconstruct an ancient Egyptian royal chariot in 2014, using the same technology as that used by the ancient Egyptians.

Salima Ikram and Andre Veldmeijer retrieve extraordinary leather fragments of an ancient chariot from abandoned casings at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo
Photo: The American University in Cairo

“The discovery of such leather fragments is extremely rare and unusual,” said Salima Ikram, professor of Egyptology, who is among the team of archaeologists working to unravel the mysteries behind these recently uncovered leather portions. “Only a handful of complete chariots are known from ancient Egypt, and of these, only one heavily restored in Florence, and that of Yuya and Tjuiu in the Egyptian Museum, have any significant amount of leather. Even then, they are largely unembellished and not as well-preserved as the fragments we found.”

Although horse-drawn chariots are often illustrated in ancient Egyptian artwork, archaeological evidence that goes beyond wooden frames is scarce. Due to their organic nature, leather fragments seldom survive. “The pieces were in a much better shape than we originally anticipated, and we were able to achieve a sense of how the leather unfolds,” said Ikram. “The fine condition that the leather was in suggests that it may have been preserved in a tomb. Leather finds from urban contexts such as Amarna, although still relatively good compared to those from many sites elsewhere in the world, usually show signs of disintegration, are brittle and, overall, in far worse condition.”

In constructing an exact replica of the chariot, Ikram and the team aim to gain an understanding of the construction technology and the leather used in its fabrication, as well as to test hypotheses about the uses of the different pieces of leather, which may prove to be a challenging endeavor. “Some leather pieces are folded over in a crumpled state, and the reconstruction of certain portions while trying to maintain accuracy in reproducing the technologies used might be more difficult than we anticipate,” said Ikram.

Back in 2008, Ikram commenced work with Andre Veldmeijer, head of the Egyptology section at the Netherlands Flemish Institute in Cairo, on the Ancient Egypt Leatherwork Project, when they came across a 1950s publication by Robert Jacobus Forbes titled Studies in Ancient Technology. The manuscript spoke of a black and white photograph of ancient trappings and horse harnesses, evidently intact and said to exist at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Intrigued by Forbes’s findings, Ikram and Veldmeijer sought the help of museum curators to locate a cache of leather trays pertaining to an Egyptian chariot, including parts of the bow-case.

Ikram and Veldmeijer sought to document, examine and conduct analytical studies of the technology and resources utilized. They categorized the leather into two main groups based on color and sturdiness: red and green fine leather, and beige and green robust leather. Some of the uncovered leather pieces were highly decorated with leather appliqué work, while others were plainer. The leather fragments have been numbered and described, and include nave hoops, neck straps, gauntlets and parts of the bow-case. The remnants evidently comprised all parts of the chariot. “Everything we saw about the chariot leather was new,” affirmed Ikram. “It presented a revelation on how the chariot was put together, the technologies and materials used. Our examinations also disclosed how drawstrings served as the means of securing leather components over the skeleton of the chariot.”

By closely examining the findings, Ikram hopes to be able to better situate them within the backdrop of Egyptian chariotry. The Egyptian Museum Chariot Project findings fit in with a larger multidisciplinary and holistic research venture on leatherwork in ancient Egypt, which also includes the study of other fragmentary chariot pieces, such as those originating from the tombs of Thutmose IV (Carter and Newberry, 1904), Amenhotep II (Daressy, 1902) and Amenhotep III (Littauer and Crouwel, 1985, 1968 and 1987), as well as the leather finds from the Amarna period (Veldmeijer, 2010). This larger project is directed by Veldmeijer and Ikram.

“Chariots changed the way people looked at terrains and the way they interacted with them,” said Ikram. “Before the chariot, transportation means in ancient Egypt were limited to boats, donkeys and walking. It introduced the notion of roadways for faster wheel conveyance, revolutionizing the way Egyptians moved through the landscape and pioneering means of transportation and warfare.”

Aside from peaceable pursuits, the chariot was closely linked to the military, providing a moving platform from which the archer could shoot at the enemy. Hunting is also repeatedly depicted as a favorite sport of Egyptian royalty and nobility, and both are frequently represented pursuing desert games while riding in their chariots. Chariot processional scenes are believed to be popular from the 18th Dynasty onward, where the triumphant pharaoh is often shown to be returning alone from the battlefield.

From ancient eras to contemporary times, Ikram believes that chariots denoted one of the earliest personal transport concepts known to mankind. “The chariot is the precursor to the car,” she said. “The ancient Egyptians used it in the same way in which early motorized vehicles were used by us.”

Source of article: The American University in Cairo’s newsletter news@auc