The Washington times., 1933-03-08

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boast of any establishment
quite as beautiful.
An Empty Hotel
At the same time-and this
should make some Of the boys
I know back in New York feel
q little better-it Is the largest
hotel lemon in existence today.
I have no actual figures at
hand. but those who know their
Cairo assure me that the He'll
opolis Is practically empty
throughout the entire season.
Ten guests in this vast and
gorgeous establishment are con-
Sidered a crowd; twenty guests
are a convention. And there are
plenty of days when this palace
is absolutely empty.
Yet everything moves exactly
as though the Heliopolis had
guests in every one of its mag
nificent rooms. There are just
as many servants. just as many
bartenders. just as many clerks.
They do nothing. Yet there,
they are.
The story behind it explains
everything very simply. The
owner is a Belgian who resides
in Cairo, and he is one of the
wealthiest men in the entire
world. The 1eliopolis develop
ment, of which the hotel Is a
tiny portion, is just as success
full as the hotel is a failure.
The development goes on for
miles, and some of the finest
homes and the most modern
apartments in Cairo have been
built upon it. 1t is large city
in itself-and the Belgian who
owns the hotel also owns prac-
tically the entire place. And
by that I mean power, cars,
lighting, apart m nts-every-
thing.
Accordingly, the Heliopolis
Hotel was built as an advertise
ment rather than as a money
making proposition. If it would
eventually turn into money, so
much the better. But even If it
didn't, 1t would always serve as
a monument to the success of
the Heliopolis development. With
an eye toward the future, the
builders also constructed huge
room that might some day be
converted into one of the worlds
most attractive gambling casinos.
But up until the present, the
proper permission has not been
secured.
inexpensive HosteIry
The rates in the Heliopolis
are not high. Indeed, when
compared with other and far
inferior hotels in Cairo. they
are ridiculously cheap. But the
distance from the main stem
and the fact that the hotel
has the reputation of never
having anyone in it, keep the
guests away.
Thus. when you walk through
the gardens and enter the
breath-taking lobby, you come
upon a veritable temple of mys-
terry. On the left Stand clerks
with no clerking to do. Distrib-
uted at different posts are serv-
ants who have no one to serve.
On the right. through a short
corridor, is an ultra-modern bar
with the most amazing appoint
ments. But the only signs of
life are the two bartenders who
keep polishing and polishing
and polishing for the custo.
merS who never arrive.
Throughout the entire estab-
lishment, everything is the
same. Beauty is everywhere,
but there are few to appreciate
it. Sometimes, when there is
a cocktail dance, the young
people spend an hour or two in
the hotel-and then leave alb
ruptly. An hour or two of
gayety, and another week of ST.
lence.
Strange. All very strange. I
left the Heliopolis with a feel
ing of awe, and not a little sad
ness. As I was driven away, I
looked back and saluted invol-
UNFAIRLY. It was like a futile
gesture Of farewell to a beau
+ tiful mauSoleum.