Egypt, Cairo – Play among the pyramids

Cairo or the Red Sea? At Dreamland Golf, you have Cairo and the pyramids of Giza as neighbors. If you stay instead at Stella di Mare, you have a bathwater warm, blue-green sea to throw yourself into after a round of golf, not to mention the snorkeling Egypt offers.

It’s March and the first thing that you encounter at the golf club Stella di Mare on the Red Sea is a wagtail. It is certainly the same wagtail that we usually meet on the Swedish gravel roads in the summer where it bobs out at the edge of the ditch. Imagine going all the way to Egypt in the autumn to pass the winter and then flying back when spring comes. Talk about flying. On the other hand, Egypt is closer than you think. It takes about four hours and twenty minutes direct flight from Heathrow to Cairo and then you are in Africa. This is what makes Egypt so interesting. It's close but still perceived as exotic.

Egypt, just think. It was this culture that flourished 5,000 years ago. The pharaohs…it's always fascinating to try to understand how they managed to drag these gigantic stone blocks to build pyramids. Equally fascinating is the fact that only a half percent of the country's surface is water and this is noticeable when you take the shuttle bus from Cairo to the Stella di Mare which is situated in the village of Ain Soukhna on the Red Sea. There is nothing but sand as far as you can see, yes, in reality, one large sand bunker.

After dusk, the only light you see is oncoming headlights. After an hour's journey, however, the evening is lit up with light and you feel the breeze from the sea in your nose. The village is there like an oasis with its 300 room large hotel.

Star of the Sea, or Stella di Mare, has been owned by an Italian family for many years. This is evident in both the decor and the food. Everywhere the architecture declares its love for Italian culture.

This time of year the Red Sea is a bit cold, barely 20 degrees centigrade, something which is noticeable both in the interior and the food. But of course, after a round of golf, it is nice to sit on the "shuttle bus" (a custom built golf cart), and get a ride back to the hotel, and then run a few feet straight out in the Red Sea.

Speaking of golf, the course was designed by Karl Litten and it’s nice but not super difficult. It strikes me that it suits out of practice Swedes now in late winter. I would like to compare it to a nice holiday course even if there are difficulties. The biggest one perhaps is the seventeenth hole, a par three of 170 metres from the yellow tee where you have water along the entire right side. It is easy to get a slice in the water.

The village Ain Sukhna is just 30 kilometres south of the million-inhabitant city of Suez, at the entrance to the Suez Canal. After playing golf a couple of days I rented a taxi and went there to get a little more than resort hotels and golf. Taxis must be booked one day in advance, because it is not a given to travel around the country as a tourist. The authorities want to keep a certain eye on you.

Taxi driver Ali tells about the 160 kilometre long Suez Canal connecting the Red Sea with the Mediterranean or Asia with Europe. It was opened in 1869 and has meant a lot for world trade. Here at the entrance boats lie in a row and waiting to get through. It costs about 1.5 million in fees for a fully loaded boat to use the canal and fees are Egypt's largest source of revenue.

With a taste for more Egyptian history, we are now on our way back to Cairo. The goal is the Hilton Hotel Pyramids and the Dreamland Golf Course with its 27 holes, also designed by the previously mentioned Karl Litten. Here, however, he had obtained more elbow room for his golf ideas and probably more money to spend.

The 18-hole course is exactly like Litten’s masterpiece Emirates in Dubai, situated in the middle of the desert. It seems to be his specialty. Lush green fairways, beautiful ponds and wonderful flower arrangements along the entire course create an unreal beautiful oasis. But I'm probably more impressed by their nine-hole course, Pharaohs. It is tougher and has some really great holes, among them the eighth, a par three of 145 metres from the yellow tee and 120 meters from the corresponding red tee. The ball is going to be hit over a ravine and up on a short green. Here you need a lot of club and landing the ball on or near the green is a bonus.

Most of the hotel rooms have views of the golf course and when I sit there on my balcony in the evening light, after a relaxing massage at the spa, I see a wagtail again down on the pavement. Perhaps it is the same one that waggled up in Ain Soukhna? It is soon spring in Sweden and instinct will drive it north. As for myself, I’m going to stay a few more days, which feels good. Saw on CNN’s weather report that it was snowing at home and was minus eight degrees.

By: Anders Örnevall

FACTS: STELLA DI MARE
Golf: Stella di Mare GC, 18 holes, par 72
Architect: Karl Litten
Verdict: A good resort course that suits the average golfer.
Hotels: Stella di Mare Grand Hotel, 301 rooms, and Stella di Mare Sea Club, 255 rooms, spa, swimming pool (not heated), five-minute shuttle bus ride to the golf course, snorkeling.
Tip: By all means eat lunch at the golf restaurant, well-prepared, modern and good.



FACTS: HILTON PYRAMIDS, CAIRO
Golf: Dreamland with 18 +9 holes, par 72 and 3 respectively
Architect: Karl Litten
Rating: A soft, hilly park course of American-style; fast, waving greens and velvety fairways.  The nine hole strand Pharaohs has many challenging holes.
Hotel: Hilton Pyramids, a five-star hotel with good rooms and excellent cuisine, both buffet and à la carte.
Tip: Albatros Club restaurant has fun decor and good food.