The welcome
I've just finished a Nile cruise and am met on the Aswan Corniche by one of the Old Cataract's new Jaguar cars. I'm delivered to the hotel's back gates and transferred the short distance to the main building by golf buggy. Inside, the hotel's grand lobby, dating from 1899, is impressive, with high ceilings, Moorish arches and chandeliers.
The neighbourhood
The hotel is situated on a gorgeous stretch of the Nile, overlooking Elephantine Island, with its Romanesque remains, and on the opposite bank, the evocative tomb of the Aga Khan. To the rear of the property is a quiet residential area, and it's about 10 minutes on foot to the Aswan Corniche and five minutes from the Nubian Museum.
The scene
Agatha Christie wrote part of her 1934 novel Death on the Nile from her first-floor suite, and in some ways the scene hasn't changed. The view is much the same as she describes, as is the hotel, with its red-and-white Victorian-Edwardian exterior, black iron balconies and colonial-style terrace. The hotel has recently undergone a complete, US$100m (Dh367m) refurbishment, giving a slick and stylish edge to its restaurants, bars and lounges, and it is again attracting the town's wealthiest tourists, though numbers are severely down when I visit thanks to the Egyptian uprising.
The room
My second-floor suite is something of a fantasy: high ceilings, a separate living room and bedroom, a huge marble bathroom and a balcony. My bedroom overlooks the Nile and I can't take my eyes off the view. It seems that more original features may have been lost in the refurbishment of the bedrooms than in the other areas of the hotel, but there's enough authenticity in the stone-floored hallways, woodwork and grand furniture to prevent the feeling that you're in any old Sofitel. The original windows have been maintained, so the noise insulation isn't as good as it might be (I can hear voices from outside at times), but I prefer the old style anyway.
The service
Formal and attentive, but sometimes slow. Staff are mostly local, and extremely gracious (any request I make by telephone is finalised with the words "with pleasure", even when it's a complaint). Room service staff have some difficulty in understanding my order ("Can I order a steak sandwich please?" "Club sandwich." "No, steak sandwich."), and delivery is a little slow; in a rush at breakfast, I have to track down a waiter to order a coffee. Yet the hotel's female concierge, an expert on the local area, pulls out all the stops to secure me a last-minute flight to Abu Simbel, and arranges the entire trip through a local tour operator without charging for her services.
The food
There are no buffets at this hotel. Breakfast consists of a colonial-style tiered tray of pastries, though you can also order off the menu. The hotel's fine dining French restaurant is called 1902 and is in a spectacular building dating from that year. There's a huge dome inside, wood floors and coloured arched doorways. I have a starter of pigeon and mushroom salad (LE210; Dh128) and a duck breast main course (LE285; Dh174). There's not much meat on the pigeon but it's nicely cooked on the bone; the duck is imported from France and is lean, moist and meaty. At the Terrace restaurant, I have a lunch of endive salad with goat's cheese, apples and honey. The hotel's Arabic restaurant is called Kebabji and has a terrace overlooking the Nile. I'm served a basket of crunchy Egyptian bread and homemade, spicy dips. My first course, a lentil soup (LE47; Dh52), is smooth and not too filling, the main course, Seyadeya, a local fish dish (LE222; Dh135), is delicious but enough for two people. Everything appears to be freshly prepared, and staff are sweetly attentive.
Loved
The views from my room and the spa, situated in the hotel's second building, which was added in the 1960s but which has also been luxuriously revamped. A one-hour signature massage by Thai therapist Bunvilai in the gorgeous So Spa (LE660; Dh402) left each set of aching muscles thoroughly relaxed.
Hated
I could not reduce the temperature in my room to make it sufficiently cool at night and had to call maintenance in the middle of the night. Some instruction on how to use the air conditioning's controls would have been useful.
The verdict
A historic property beautifully renovated, and luxurious enough to merit a visit to Aswan by itself.
The bottom line
Rooms at the Sofitel cost from $472 (Dh1,733) per night, including taxes. Sofitel Legend Old Cataract, Abtal Al Tahrir Street, Aswan (www.sofitel.com; 0020 97 231 6000)
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Champions League Last 16
Red Bull Salzburg (AUT) v Bayern Munich (GER)
Sporting Lisbon (POR) v Manchester City (ENG)
Benfica (POR) v Ajax (NED)
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Retirement funds heavily invested in equities at a risky time
Pension funds in growing economies in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East have a sharply higher percentage of assets parked in stocks, just at a time when trade tensions threaten to derail markets.
Retirement money managers in 14 geographies now allocate 40 per cent of their assets to equities, an 8 percentage-point climb over the past five years, according to a Mercer survey released last week that canvassed government, corporate and mandatory pension funds with almost $5 trillion in assets under management. That compares with about 25 per cent for pension funds in Europe.
The escalating trade spat between the US and China has heightened fears that stocks are ripe for a downturn. With tensions mounting and outcomes driven more by politics than economics, the S&P 500 Index will be on course for a “full-scale bear market” without Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts, Citigroup’s global macro strategy team said earlier this week.
The increased allocation to equities by growth-market pension funds has come at the expense of fixed-income investments, which declined 11 percentage points over the five years, according to the survey.
Hong Kong funds have the highest exposure to equities at 66 per cent, although that’s been relatively stable over the period. Japan’s equity allocation jumped 13 percentage points while South Korea’s increased 8 percentage points.
The money managers are also directing a higher portion of their funds to assets outside of their home countries. On average, foreign stocks now account for 49 per cent of respondents’ equity investments, 4 percentage points higher than five years ago, while foreign fixed-income exposure climbed 7 percentage points to 23 per cent. Funds in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan are among those seeking greater diversification in stocks and fixed income.
• Bloomberg
Results
Male 51kg Round 1
Dias Karmanov (KAZ) beat Mabrook Rasea (YEM) by points 2-1.
Male 54kg Round 1
Yelaman Sayassatov (KAZ) beat Chen Huang (TPE) TKO Round 1; Huynh Hoang Phi (VIE) beat Fahad Anakkayi (IND) RSC Round 2; Qais Al Jamal (JOR) beat Man Long Ng (MAC) by points 3-0; Ayad Albadr (IRQ) beat Yashar Yazdani (IRI) by points 2-1.
Male 57kg Round 1
Natthawat Suzikong (THA) beat Abdallah Ondash (LBN) by points 3-0; Almaz Sarsembekov (KAZ) beat Ahmed Al Jubainawi (IRQ) by points 2-1; Hamed Almatari (YEM) beat Nasser Al Rugheeb (KUW) by points 3-0; Zakaria El Jamari (UAE) beat Yu Xi Chen (TPE) by points 3-0.
Men 86kg Round 1
Ahmad Bahman (UAE) beat Mohammad Al Khatib (PAL) by points 2-1
Men 63.5kg Round 1
Noureddin Samir (UAE) beat Polash Chakma (BAN) RSC Round 1.
Female 45kg quarter finals
Narges Mohammadpour (IRI) beat Yuen Wai Chan (HKG) by points.
Female 48kg quarter finals
Szi Ki Wong (HKG) beat Dimple Vaishnav (IND) RSC round 2; Thanawan Thongduang (THA) beat Nastaran Soori (IRI) by points; Shabnam Hussain Zada (AFG) beat Tzu Ching Lin (TPE) by points.
Female 57kg quarter finals
Nguyen Thi Nguyet (VIE) beat Anisha Shetty (IND) by points 2-1; Areeya Sahot (THA) beat Dana Al Mayyal (KUW) RSC Round 1; Sara Idriss (LBN) beat Ching Yee Tsang (HKG) by points 3-0.
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A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
INFO
The Beach Bum
Director: Harmony Korine
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Isla Fisher, Snoop Dogg
Two stars
yallacompare profile
Date of launch: 2014
Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer
Based: Media City, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: 120 employees
Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)
Visit Abu Dhabi culinary team's top Emirati restaurants in Abu Dhabi
Yadoo’s House Restaurant & Cafe
For the karak and Yoodo's house platter with includes eggs, balaleet, khamir and chebab bread.
Golden Dallah
For the cappuccino, luqaimat and aseeda.
Al Mrzab Restaurant
For the shrimp murabian and Kuwaiti options including Kuwaiti machboos with kebab and spicy sauce.
Al Derwaza
For the fish hubul, regag bread, biryani and special seafood soup.
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Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
About Okadoc
Date started: Okadoc, 2018
Founder/CEO: Fodhil Benturquia
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Healthcare
Size: (employees/revenue) 40 staff; undisclosed revenues recording “double-digit” monthly growth
Funding stage: Series B fundraising round to conclude in February
Investors: Undisclosed
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 2 (Mahrez 04', Ake 84')
Leicester City 5 (Vardy 37' pen, 54', 58' pen, Maddison 77', Tielemans 88' pen)
Man of the match: Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)
Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
Abu%20Dhabi%E2%80%99s%20Racecard
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TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
The specs: 2018 Renault Koleos
Price, base: From Dh77,900
Engine: 2.5L, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 170hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 233Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.3L / 100km
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
