You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
<strong>Churchill</strong> sites like this are<br />
available to you, too, if you give<br />
thought to where you are and<br />
where <strong>Churchill</strong> was....be<br />
prepared to “drop everything”!<br />
I did not ask about air conditioning in 1943, but of<br />
course that meeting was in cooler November. Today’s rate is<br />
$1515 per night excluding 24% service charge and tax.<br />
There is much information on the Mena House and Giza<br />
on the Internet.<br />
We barely caught our bus back for the afternoon trip,<br />
20 km to the world’s oldest pyramid at Sakkara, then the<br />
long ride to Alexandria, where our ship welcomed us with<br />
bagpipes, drinks and dinner. It was worth the rush.<br />
The aforementioned concession was that I promised<br />
Lynn, another cruise to Alexandria so she could visit the<br />
famous library. She twisted my arm.<br />
Lawrence of Arabia did not particularly like Egyptian<br />
hotels. In a letter to his brother he remarked: “Here we live<br />
in a marble & bronze hotel, very expensive & luxurious:<br />
horrible place: makes me Bolshevik…”<br />
<strong>Churchill</strong> had a rather different view. In his opinion,<br />
international summit conferences were difficult enough<br />
without the burden of sub-standard surroundings.<br />
(Significantly after returning from Yalta, he had all his<br />
clothes fumigated.) At Cairo in 1943, however, there is<br />
every evidence that he found his accommodation suitable.<br />
My own searches for <strong>Churchill</strong>, often reported in<br />
these pages, are not unique. <strong>Churchill</strong> sites like this are<br />
available to you, too, if you give thought to where you are<br />
and where <strong>Churchill</strong> was. The keys are persistence—<br />
coupled with patient civility. Also—when the opportunity<br />
presents itself—be prepared to “drop everything!” ,<br />
Endnotes<br />
1. Richard M. Langworth, ed., <strong>Churchill</strong> By Himself (New York:<br />
Public Affairs, 2009), 579.<br />
2. <strong>Winston</strong> S. <strong>Churchill</strong>, The Second World War, vol. V, Closing the<br />
Ring (London: Cassell, 1951), 289.<br />
3. Sir Martin Gilbert, <strong>Winston</strong> S. <strong>Churchill</strong>, vol. VII. Road to<br />
Victory 1941-1945 (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1986), 460-567.<br />
FINEST HOUR 148 / 25