[Marriott Mena House Hotel] Bentley, Arthur, J.M. / Griffinhoofe, C.G.

Wintering in Egypt. Part I.: Under the Shadow of the Pyramids. Part II.: Hints to Invalids.

London, Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co. Ltd., 1894. 26.5 cm x 18.5 cm. Frontispiece, VI, 188 pages.18 illustrations including a map of the region around the Pyramids of Gizeh Mena Hotel, Bulak. Hardcover [publisher’s original green cloth] with gilt lettering and gilt embossed pictoral on front board. Very good condition with only minor signs of external wear. Lower corner boards slightly bumped. Marking on front paste-down. Valleys between pastedowns and endpapers show tears. Binding a little shaky but overall still firm and strong. Interior is clean and bright. Extremely scarce publication !

Includes, for example, the following: The Desert and the Nile Valley / Mena House/ Inside the Great Pyramid / The Cemetry at Memphis / The Bazaars in Cairo / Christian and Mohammedan Observances / The Sphinx by Moonlight / Snipe-shooting in Egypt / etc.

The book is divided into two parts: The first part deals primarily with describing Egypt as a tourist destination – the sights, scenes and peoples encountered; the second part of the book offers “Hints to Invalids. Suggestions to Medical Men.″

In this latter section, based upon a paper read before the British Medical Council in 1894, the benefits of Egypt’s varied climate are offered as a cure for diseases “when every other form of treatment has failed.” All forms of “chest disease where rest is desirale,” chronic bronchitis, chronic rheumatism and cases of “renal diseases and sufferers of gravel” would be ameliorated by the Egyptian winter. But, “advanced heart disease or advanced organic disease of any organ (excepting cases of chronic and extensive lung consolidation, tubercular or otherwise, which can be greatly benefitted),” all forms of skin disease, “insomnia, except when arising from worry or excessive brain work,” and “some forms of neurosis, and hypochondriacs with a melancholy tendency” are deemed unsuited for the Egyptian cure. However “the drawbacks to a winter sojourn in Egypt, and, in fact anywhere out of England” were not to be ignored- the “distance from home” being among them.

The book, written when it was, and in the manner it was, gives the modern reader a glimpse into the lives and sensibilites of the upper section of the Victorian society that had the option and ability to find themselves “Wintering in Egypt.” A chapter given over to the luxurious Mena House in Cairo is illustrative of the type of lifestyle and standards of comfort that book is aimed at. ‘It is pleasant as one passes through the garden of “the precincts” to smell the delightful fragrance of the mignonette which even in the depth of winter is in full bloom. There are many other buildings at Mena which are worth seeing. The swimming bath and the dark photographing room are perhaps the most useful of these. There are arrangments for tennis, croquet, archery and golf; while opportunities for riding and driving exist on every side.’ (p.32)
The Mena House “Family Hotel” with 80 guest rooms was opened in 1887. Originally bulit by the Khedive Ismail Pasha, the ruler of Egypt, to host Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III, Mena house – nicknamed the ‘Mud Hut’ – and estate grounds was owned and operated by Hugh and Ethel Locke-King. Just five years prior to the books publication the leading society figure of all European spas and resorts, from the springs of Baden to the roulette tables of Monte Carlo, visited Mena House. His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales (top) had been welcomed by His Highness the Khedive, who showed him the Pyramids. After lunch, The Egyptian Gazette reported, the party ‘went over to the Mena Hotel and took coffee there. A year after ‘Wintering in Egypt’ was published, in the winter of 1895-1896, Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, stayed at Mena House. Throughout the 20th Century dignitaries from Winston Churchil and Richard Nixon and Holywood stars like Charlie Chaplin and Frank Sinatra enjoyed the opulent hospitality of Cairo’s most prestigious hotels. The hotel served as an Allied hospital during the Great War. Amid the Second World War, in November 1943, Mena House hosted a conference between Churchill Roosevelt and the Chinese leader Chiang Kai-Shek. (‘Hstorical Background’, available on Marriott website)

• Keywords: 19th Century · 19th Century – Rare · Africa – Rare · Africa, North · Africana Collection of Rare Books · Alternative Medicine · Ancient Egypt · Cairo · Egypt · Gift Ideas Rare · Health and Fitness · Health Care · History of Medicine · Hunting · Hunting – Rare · Hunting History · Hunting in Egypt · Hunting Lodge in Egypt · Map, African · Medical · Medical care · Medical History · Mena House, Egypt · Native, Rituals and Customs · North Africa · Pyramids · Ruins · Snipe Shooting in Egypt · Sphinx · Tourism · Travel & Expedition – Rare · Travel Africa – Rare · Travel and Adventure · Travel Egypt – Rare · Travel Guide · Travel Rare · Travel Writing · Travel-Guide · Travellers · Travelling Authors · Victorian Era
• Language: English
• Inventory Number: 120023AB

EUR 880,--