Agatha Christie stayed at the Old Cataract hotel in Egypt more than 70 years ago, writing what would become one of her most famous murder mystery novels, Death on the Nile.
The stunning hotel in Aswan, which helped to inspire the renowned crime writer, is now more than a century old, and is undergoing a major facelift.
Part of a US$368 million (Dh1.35 billion) restoration programme that includes nine historic properties, it is scheduled to reopen in September under the management of the French luxury brand Sofitel.
Built by the tour operator Thomas Cook towards the end of the 19th century, the Old Cataract opened its doors in 1899 and was a five-star stopover for Victorian travellers venturing down the Nile.
By the 1930s and then after the Second World War, it attracted the rich and famous from across Europe, including the former British prime minister Winston Churchill, the Aga Khan and in the 1980s Diana, Princess of Wales, and Princess Caroline of Monaco.
"It enchants me," says Hercule Poirot, Christie's fictional Belgian detective, when he is staying at the Cataract Hotel on holiday in Death on the Nile. "The black rocks of Elephantine [the island off the hotel], and the sun, and the little boats on the river."
Poirot's love affair with Egypt is shared by millions as tourism in the country accounted for about 11.5 per cent of the economy last year as visitors flocked to historic sites such as the pyramids and the Valley of the Kings.
Others headed to the more modern resort town of Sharm el Sheikh on the Red Sea.
Tourism in Egypt creates one in seven jobs directly and indirectly, and more than 14 million tourists visited the country last year, spending about $13bn, according to the Egyptian Tourist Authority.
This year it has been a different story.
As travel warnings were issued following the uprisings and tour operators cancelled trips, the number of tourists to Egypt dropped 46 per cent in the first quarter of the year compared with the same period last year.
"The government is expected to be very committed to continuing to renovate historic properties as this is an important element of their activity to attract more travellers in Egypt," says Nadejda Popova, a travel and tourism analyst at Euromonitor International.
"As such, the country is expected to have increased levels of renovation works for historic sites and buildings. Egypt's tourism industry was brought to a standstill amid the unfolding crisis and its recovery now only depends on a guaranteed return to stability."
The country is hoping to attract 25 million visitors a year by 2020.
But with occupancy levels depressed, this is an ideal time for work to take place on historic hotels and properties, the state-owned holding company behind the project says.
"Now that we have some turbulence in tourism in Egypt, we've found that it is the right time to invest and continue investing in renovation," says Aly Abdel Aziz, the chief executive of Egypt's Holding Company for Tourism, Hotels and Cinema.
"Let's do the renovation in order to meet the competition in other destinations once we have the tourism back in Egypt - hopefully soon."
Other historic hotels to undergo restoration include the Shepheard in Cairo and the Luxor, which will both be managed by Rocco Forte, and the Nile Ritz-Carlton in Cairo, which is already closed for renovation and is scheduled to open in two years.
All of the properties boast a wealth of history and the restoration programme, which was launched a few years ago, will restore them to their prime.
"As part of this commitment, these properties will undergo total renovation to bring them back to their former glory while conserving their original features," says Mr Aziz. "We will closely manage these historic assets to ensure that sales are increased and we are able to compete with Egypt's growing private sector.
"These iconic hotels within this collection play an important role in Egypt's history and it is our mission to preserve these exquisite national treasures. With significant investment and dedicated restoration projects for each of these landmark properties over the next three years, we will ensure that these prestigious hotels stand glorious for generations to come, while still retaining their individuality."
The recent revolution and its devastating impact on Egypt's tourism industry have caused delays in the restoration programme.
Tourism analysts say it is important for Egypt to raise the standards of its hotels now as well as the areas surrounding its attractions, even though Mr Aziz believes a major recovery of the industry will take more than a year.
"I'm sure the tourism will boom overnight, but let's give it time and let's be ready for it," he says. "We have a lot of work to do for the future. It's not only the hotels. It's the surrounding of the areas like the Pyramids, the West Bank in Luxor, the Egyptian Museum. We have to clean up all these areas and bring them up to date."
The restoration of hotels is a complicated task. "It's not only a renovation," Mr Aziz says of the programme. "It's a complete rehabilitation. We're not only painting walls. We're demolishing the hotel completely from the inside. We are re-cabling hotels. We are redesigning hotels. It's more difficult than building a new hotel."
A breakdown of the tourism figures shows that 12 per cent of the country's visitors arrived from other parts of the Middle East, the second biggest market. Tourists from Europe made up the bulk of arrivals at 76 per cent.
Visitors from the Emirates last year rose 8.5 per cent on 2009 to 53,815.
"The desirability to visit the historical parts of Egypt is still strong," says Jim FitzGibbon, the president of worldwide hotel operations for Four Seasons, which manages hotels in Cairo, Alexandria, and Sharm el Sheikh. "The tourism industry in that part of the world has to get back on track and I think it will."
Hopefully, it will do so with the same splendour and style that enchanted Agatha Christie.
rbundhun@thenational.ae
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Diriyah%20project%20at%20a%20glance
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The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Company%C2%A0profile
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Dunki
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Leaderboard
64 - Gavin Green (MAL), Graeme McDowell (NIR)
65 - Henrik Stenson (SWE), Sebastian Soderberg (SWE), Adri Arnaus (ESP), Victor Perez (FRA), Jhonattan Vegas (VEN)
66 - Phil Mickelson (USA), Tom Lewis (ENG), Andy Sullivan (ENG), Ross Fisher (ENG), Aaron Rai (ENG), Ryan Fox (NZL)
67 - Dustin Johnson (USA), Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez (ESP), Lucas Herbert (AUS), Francesco Laporta (ITA), Joost Luiten (NED), Soren Kjeldsen (DEN), Marcus Kinhult (SWE)
68 - Alexander Bjork (SWE), Matthieu Pavon (FRA), Adrian Meronk (POL), David Howell (ENG), Christiaan Bezuidenhout (RSA), Fabrizio Zanotti (PAR), Sean Crocker (USA), Scott Hend (AUS), Justin Harding (RSA), Jazz Janewattananond (THA), Shubhankar Sharma (IND), Renato Paratore (ITA)
Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
Book%20Details
%3Cp%3E%3Cem%3EThree%20Centuries%20of%20Travel%20Writing%20by%20Muslim%20Women%3C%2Fem%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EEditors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESiobhan%20Lambert-Hurley%2C%20Daniel%20Majchrowicz%2C%20Sunil%20Sharma%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EIndiana%20University%20Press%3B%20532%20pages%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
THREE
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Nayla%20Al%20Khaja%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Jefferson%20Hall%2C%20Faten%20Ahmed%2C%20Noura%20Alabed%2C%20Saud%20Alzarooni%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Match info:
Portugal 1
Ronaldo (4')
Morocco 0
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Kill%20Bill%20Volume%201
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Quentin%20Tarantino%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Uma%20Thurman%2C%20David%20Carradine%20and%20Michael%20Madsen%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%204.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
HOSTS
T20 WORLD CUP
2024: US and West Indies; 2026: India and Sri Lanka; 2028: Australia and New Zealand; 2030: England, Ireland and Scotland
ODI WORLD CUP
2027: South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia; 2031: India and
Bangladesh
CHAMPIONS TROPHY
2025: Pakistan; 2029: India
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Qosty Byogaani
Starring: Hani Razmzi, Maya Nasir and Hassan Hosny
Four stars
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