Join me into another of my sharing of books from my list and a short plunge into the many layers of history. With upcoming travel on my mind, I conjured up memories of some of the hotels in which I have stayed. Many of them have long histories as well as shared events with great impact on their longevity. I found a book reviewed by Celia Alexander that echoed and provided details backing up my thoughts about my experiences and adventures. The book is entitled Memorializing The Grand Hotels of Egypt written by Andrew Humphrey, a highly revered long time travel writer based in the UK.
The historical perspective he presents in Egypt is reiterated in grand structures around the world. Some hotels date back centuries, others are more recent, the 1800’s or early 1900’s. All share great longevity, sharing the survival of disaster: devastating fires, damage in war zones, floods and other natural disasters, cumbling infrastructures, abandonment and so on. Many have survived and been revitalized, whether in their original buildings or more modern versions depends on their fate. I have enjoyed stays in many oldies throughout my many travels often preferring these gems to the glass and metal versions in modernity. I am a lover of contemporary design but easily succumb to the glory of the old and loved grand hotels and inns.
I refrain from a long listing here as many of us have enjoyed these hotels and perhaps pondered as well about what life was like for travelers in days before air and modern travel modes including web access to sites that make planning a charm. We have the ability to arrive in a few hours or a day or 2 at our destination. In the book, Andrew Humphrey’s Egyptian focus discusses early travelers to Cairo’s grand hotels as “British colonial administrators and their wives on their way to India. Sailing around the southern tip of the African continent took months, but the “overland route” — sailing to Alexandria then going up the Nile to Cairo and crossing the desert to Suez — took considerably less time.” They endured days and weeks of travel by ship, preceded by domestic travel modes of the day, stagecoach, or wagon in harsh weather or by mule train, horse back, caravans, rough roads, attacks and robbery or broken axles and accidents. They were soon followed by wealthy merchants setting off in the fall to seek warmer weather and adventure with their families from November to spring, and then enduring the long way home. Grand hotels were their destination, packing many trunks and often household goods and belongings they could not do without. The hotels flourished and the industry grew. The beginning of travel packages and special deals was born and competition swelled. To keep this short and hopefully sweet I suggest your checking the review found at www.egyptindependent.com.
I foundly remember grand hotels such as the King David in Jerusalem, others in Kiev, Moscow, Italy, France, Bukara ( former home of a wealthy merchant and very memorable, in the Baltics, Adriatic, China and a hotel deep in the Mexican Copper Canyon where images of a family of travelers from Washington DC arrived on mule back with a household full of dishware, furniture in pieces, and a grand piano carried up and down mountain passes by a bevy of servants. They stayed in an old hotel until their residence was move-in ready and the father set out hoping to make a fortune by mining silver.
Please share your stories. I welcome feedback and respond with glee
Ann Carol Goldberg