Shepheard's Hotel

Shepheard's Hotel, c. 1920s

Shepheard's Hotel was the leading hotel in Cairo and one of the most celebrated hotels in the world from the middle of the 19th century until it was burned down in 1952 in the Cairo Fire. Five years after the original one was destroyed, a new hotel was built nearby and named the Shepheard Hotel.

Shepheard's Hotel

Originally under the name Hotel des Anglais (English Hotel),[1][2] it was established in 1841, by Samuel Shepheard, and renamed Shepheard's Hotel.[3] Shepheard, who was an English gentlemen once described as "an undistinguished, apprentice, pastry chef"[4] was from Preston Capes, Northamptonshire, England, co-owned the hotel with Mr. Hill, Mohammed Ali Pasha's head coachman. Mr. Shepheard did prove to be a successful entrepreneur and businessman, when soldiers staying at a hotel were suddenly moved to another country, leaving unpaid bills, Shepheard personally went to collect payment.[1]

In 1845, Hill relinquished his interest in the hotel, and Shepheard became the sole owner. Shepheard sold the hotel in 1861 for £10,000[5] and retired to Eathorpe Hall, Eathorpe, Warwickshire, England. Richard Burton, a close friend of Shepheard, left a detailed description of his generous character and successful career, describing him as "a remarkable man in many points, and in all things the model John Bull".[6][5]

All in all, Shepheard's Hotel was famed for its grandeur and opulence, though a frequent complaint was that its cuisine left "much to be desired".[7] It was extensively renovated in 1891, 1899, 1904, 1909 and 1927.[4]

Then on 26 January 1952, during World War I, the hotel which was highly favored by British soldiers, was totally destroyed in The Cairo Fire anti-British riots, in dramatic civil unrest that led to the Egyptian Revolution of 1952.[8][9]

Shepheard Hotel

The current Shepheard Hotel was erected in 1957 by Egyptian Hotels Ltd. in Garden City, Cairo, about 1/2 mile from the site of the original hotel. The new hotel, and the land on which it sits, is owned by E.G.O.T.H. (The Egyptian General Company for Tourism & Hotels). The hotel was managed by Helnan International Hotels and known as the Helnan Shepheard Hotel[4] until September 29, 2009, when the Rocco Forte Company was chosen as the hotel's management company. In 2014 they closed it for renovations.[10]

The hotel has had many notable guests, both real and fictional. Among them were Aga Khan, the Maharajah of Jodhpur and Winston Churchill.[11] It was portrayed in the 1934 British film The Camels are Coming.[12] The hotel is the setting for a number of scenes in the 1996 film The English Patient but actual filming of the scenes happened at The Grand Hotel des Bains in Venice Lido, Italy.[13] The hotel is used as a base of operations in The Race Colonization series by Harry Turtledove,[14] as a location in Agatha Christie's Crooked House,[15] and is mentioned in Anthony Trollope's short-story, An Unprotected Female at the Pyramids (1861).[16]

References

  1. 1 2 Denby, Elaine (March 27, 2002). Grand Hotels: Reality and Illusion. Reaktion Books. p. 186. ISBN 9781861891211. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  2. ↑ Elaine Denby - Grand Hotels: Reality & Illusion (New York: McGraw-Hill; London: Reaktion Books, 1998)
  3. ↑ Michael Bird - Samuel Shepheard of Cairo: A Portrait (London: Michael Joseph, 1957)
  4. 1 2 3 Wharton, Annabel Jane (July 1, 2001). Building the Cold War: Hilton International Hotels and Modern Architecture. University of Chicago Press. pp. 43, 211–220. ISBN 9780226894195. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  5. 1 2 Sattin, Anthony. Lifting the Veil: Two Centuries of Travellers, Traders and Tourists in Egypt. Tauris Parke Paperbacks. ISBN 9780857719966. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  6. ↑ Richard F. Burton, The Gold-Mines of Midian (C.Kegan Paul & Co, London, 1878), pp. 43-46
  7. ↑ Sir John Gardner Wilkinson - A Handbook for Travellers in Egypt (London: John Murray, 1858)
  8. ↑ Woodward, David R. (December 1, 2006). Hell in the Holy Land: World War I in the Middle East. University Press of Kentucky. p. 25. ISBN 9780813171449. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  9. ↑ Nina Nelson - Helnan Shepheard Hotel Cairo-Egypt (Cairo: Al Ahram, 1992)
  10. ↑ "Shepheard Hotel". E.G.O.T.H. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  11. ↑ Beattie, Andrew (2005). Cairo: A Cultural and Literary History. Signal Books. ISBN 9781902669779. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  12. ↑ "The Camels Are Coming (1934) Movie on Youtube". Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  13. ↑ "The English Patient film locations". Movie Locations. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  14. ↑ Turtledove, Harry. "Down to Earth - Colonization Book 2". e reading club. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  15. ↑ Christie, Agatha (August 19, 2002). Crooked House. William Morrow Paperbacks. p. 1. ISBN 978-0062073532.
  16. ↑ Trollope, Anthony (1861). An Unprotected Female at the Pyramids. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
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Coordinates: 30°02′32″N 31°13′54″E / 30.04222°N 31.23167°E / 30.04222; 31.23167

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