10th April 2013
Marsam Hotel - Qurna Mura'i
Marsam Hotel is situated between Merenptah Museum and the ticket office roundabout on the West Bank.
Marsam Hotel - Qurna Mura'i
Marsam Hotel is situated between Merenptah Museum and the ticket office roundabout on the West Bank.
As I was approaching the Merenptah's Museum near to the Ramesseum, when I noticed the new sign for Marsam Hotel. I had already been told how nice this place is so I thought I would take a look for myself. I met Klaus and his wife Claudia who are partners running the hotel, Klaus was good enough to give me an interview.
It is not sure as to whether this hotel was an old dig house. There are a lot of stories about this. As far as I know, the building is believed to be more than two hundred and fifty years old. It became a dig house in the time of Howard Carter (Tutankhamun). Sayd Ali is the owner now and his father Sheik Ali when Tutankhamun was found was ten years old. Sayd Ali’s grandfather was one of the workers with Howard Carter; one of the foremen. So it was a Rest House during the Carter times.
Then in the twenties the University of Chicago built a further part to the hotel. They used it as an art school and many students from Europe and America came here to study art. In the sixty’s the part called the Italian House was built and then it developed into a hotel. We can proudly say, it’s for sure it’s the oldest place that is very near to the monuments. We have a big amount of Egyptologists staying here every year for two or three months, it’s an interesting mixture for the tourists and our traveler's coming here to have this time together with these people, especially the traveler's. The normal tourists do not come to us, they need a swimming pool and bar, we do not have this, but we have a nice garden, a rest place. We will never have a swimming pool. Klaus says he has a partnership with the owner, a contract. I was coming here for forty years, when I was young; I fell in love with Egypt and this place.
We have thirty-two rooms, twelve rooms have air-conditioning and bathroom, air-conditioning is very important for the summer. In the summer we have some Egyptologists coming and they need it. The rooms in the white house are the oldest part; they are very simple. In the Italian House, they are very nice rooms with stones, and it’s a mud brick house. We have two restaurants but mostly people eat out in the garden. We have a restaurant open all year round and in the wintertime we have one inside because outside it’s a little cold.
We have special offers for Egyptologists so if they are working here they get a special rate. For a tourist a room with air-conditioning and bathroom with breakfast for two people will be 200LE a night, smaller rooms are 75LE. Most of our guests come back. It is very peaceful here if you compare it with the East Bank. You are free here and you can do everything by your feet. If we have a group of Egyptologist we do a special full board offer. Our food is fresh food only from the marker, frozen things we do not touch.
Prices are as of 10th April 2013.
We are on Facebook.
It is a hotel more suited for Traveler's, Artists and Egyptologists.