29°59′08"N 31°07′58"E
The Mena House Oberoi is a luxurious hotel and resort located just outside of Cairo

Cairo

Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...

, Egypt and lies at the foot of the famous Pyramid of Cheops. This five star getaway is owned and operated by the Oberoi Group hotel chain. Mena House Oberoi has played an important role in Egypt's history and has played host to numerous influential people such as Winston Churchill, Richard Nixon and Agatha Christie.

History

The Mena House Oberoi was initially a hunting lodge; it was a two story hut nicknamed the “Mud Hut”. It was built in 1869 for the Egyptian King Isma'il Pasha

Isma'il Pasha

Isma'il Pasha , known as Ismail the Magnificent , was the Khedive of Egypt and Sudan from 1863 to 1879, when he was removed at the behest of the United Kingdom...

. Due to political matters in 1883, Isma'il sold the lodge to couple Frederick and Jessie Head as a private residence. The couple came across the building while on their honeymoon and once it was purchased they expanded it. In 1885, it was then sold to an English couple Ethel

Ethel Locke-King

Dame Ethel Locke-King , DBE, was a motor-racing promoter and hospital patron.Her wealthy husband, Sir Hugh F. Locke-King, created and solely financed Brooklands House, Weybridge, Surrey, the first permanent race-track in the world...

 and Hugh Locke-King. They immediately began construction on the hotel and opened it to the public in 1886 as The Mena House. The hotel is named after the founding father of the first Egyptian dynasty, Mena or King Menes

Menes

Menes was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the early dynastic period, credited by classical tradition with having united Upper and Lower Egypt, and as the founder of the first dynasty ....

 of Memphis. He founded the city of Memphis and unified Upper and Lower Egypt

Upper and Lower Egypt

Ancient Egypt was divided into two regions, namely Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt. To the north was Lower Egypt where the Nile stretched out with its several branches to form the Nile Delta. To the south was Upper Egypt, stretching to Syene. The two kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt were united c....

. In 1890, the hotel opened Egypt’s first swimming pool that same year it was announced that the hotel would remain open year round. During World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 the hotel was requisitioned by Australian troops and occupied again by the Australians in 1939. Toward the end of the war it was then converted to a hospital for wounded Australian troops. In 1971, the hotel was purchased by Rai Bahadur Mohan Singh Oberoi; his company is the current owners of The Mena House.In December 1977 Egypt and Israel sat down together at Mena House in quest for a peace settlement (also attending were American and United Nations representatives). The results of this Mena House Conference were to lead to the Camp David Agreement, which restored Egypt's sovereignty over the Sinai peninsula.

Renovations and expansions

In 1920, 30 more rooms were added. In 1964, the hotel was purchased by the Oberoi Group and they began refurbishment in 1972; it was completed in 1975. In 1978, they began construction on the garden wing; 200 rooms were added. In 2007 and 2008 the hotel was renovated again.

Famous visitors

In 1889, Prince Albert Victor of Wales stayed at the hotel. In 1894, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Arthur Conan Doyle

Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...

 and his wife stayed there. In 1909, the future King George V and Queen Mary

Mary of Teck

Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....

 attended a banquet there. Circa 1914, Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...

 stayed at the hotel. In 1939, King Farouk of Egypt frequently visited. In 1974, President Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon

Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...

 visited. Other notable people such as Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie

Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...

, Roger Moore

Roger Moore

Sir Roger George Moore KBE , is an English actor, perhaps best known for portraying British secret agent James Bond in seven films from 1973 to 1985. He also portrayed Simon Templar in the long-running British television series The Saint.-Early life:Moore was born in Stockwell, London...

, Cecil B. DeMille

Cecil B. DeMille

Cecil Blount DeMille was an American film director and Academy Award-winning film producer in both silent and sound films. He was renowned for the flamboyance and showmanship of his movies...

, Charlton Heston

Charlton Heston

Charlton Heston was an American actor of film, theatre and television. Heston is known for heroic roles in films such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, El Cid, and Planet of the Apes...

, Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra

Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...

and Charlie Chaplin have all stayed at Mena House Oberoi.

Reference

"Oberoi Hotels & Resorts." Oberoihotels.com. Oberoi Hotels & Resorts, 2010. Web. 12 Sep 2010. .

"The Mena House: Review, history and photos of the legendary Oberoi hotel in Giza near the Pyramids." Cosmopolis 24 Jan 2008: n. pag. Web. 12 Sep 2010. .

Turner, Sarah. "Mena House Oberol in Cairo: Where Winston Churchill and Frank Sinatra made history." MailOnline (2010): n. pag. Web. 12 Sep 2010. .

Winship, Frederick M. "Egypt in Throes of Huge Tourist Boom." Sarasota Herald-Tribune (1978): 6.H. Web. 12 Sep 2010. .

"Americans create Egypt travel boom." Montreal Gazette (1978): 16. Web. 12 Sep 2010. .

"Weekend retreats Cool pools." Al-Ahram Weekly Online 705 (2004): n. pag. Web. 19 Sep 2010. .

"History of the Hotel." famoushotels.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sep 2010. .

External links

• Mena House Oberoi, webpage

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