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Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Burj El Fateh - Khartoum

Last week I posted about visiting the Souq (market) to buy a formal outfit for a special occassion. You can read about this here.

The proposed outing was a dinner date at a five star hotel in the city. This and the impromptu invitation to a Sudenese wedding the night before, (see here if you wish) were the first social events we've been to here in Khartoum and I must admit, I was very excited while preparing for it.

Close-up detail of my outfit. Even though almost all the eveningwear is revealing, you wear a gossamer, snug-fitting T-shirt underneath to make it acceptable in public

Grant and I off on our dinner date
Burj Al Fateh Hotel, Khartoum (Photo courtesy of the Internet)

Ever since arriving in Khartoum in August last year, I've yearned to go to the Burj Al Fateh. This hotel complex is situated on the confluence of the White and Blue Niles. It is in the centre of Khartoum's commercial, business and administrative districts.

Well, last Wednesday Grant invited Issam, to dinner with us at the Burj Al Fateh.
This hotel is a sleek masterpiece of steel and glass and rises up eighteen floors. The first two floors, after the ground floor reception area, contain the most sumptious suites. The next sixteen have a five-star restaurant on each. We ate at The Richshaw, on level seventeen. This beautifully decorated restaurant, which serves Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese and Chinese food, is softly lit and elegant. It exudes an intimate, warm ambiance along with the exoticism of the East. The food is tasty, light, beautifully presented and served by petite Japanese waitresses. The service? Ten-star!
However, it's rather disconcerting to dine at such a height seated at your "window" table with circular windows three meters away. The view onto Khartoum seemed miles down. I had hoped to get panoramic photos of the city but due to the open-plan design, I couldn't actually lean up against a window. (The architects never visualised having a blogger there!) Grant has promised to take me there late one afternoon to take photos. Apparently there's a pool deck right at the top with an unlimited view of the city. Mmm.

Mugran restaurant on the sixteenth floor
The architecture is breathtaking (Photo: courtesy of the Internet)

Restaurants on every level are visible from the three floors up and down
(Photos above and below: courtesy of the Internet)


The Presidential Suite - isn't it just stunning?

The Rickshaw Restaurant was our choice for dinner

I had spicy Thai vegetables with fried rice. Unlike the men who ate with conventional utensils, I was adventurous and used chopsticks

Issam and Grant talking shop. There is no alcolhol served in the Sudan. Yet the fruit juices are freshly squeezed and the tastiest drink ever

My poor subjects wait patiently while I master the flash function on my new camera!
The copper murals (above and below) were visible from the frighteningly fast glass lift/elevator


I was rather proud of this photo...
For more beautiful worlds, click here. Thanks to Klaus, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy and Sylvia for this wonderful meme.

22 comments:

  1. Wow---what a beautiful place, Jo. I'm so glad you got to go there. You looked FABULOUS!!!!!!

    The pictures reminded me of our beautiful Opryland Hotel in Nashville which just got destroyed by a flood. SO SO HORRIBLE. I'll show a video tomorrow--which won't tell you much since you haven't been there.

    Glad you got to go and have a wonderful time.

    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  2. Wow, this is a stunning and spectacular hotel! What a treat for you and Grant, Jo.

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  3. Hi Jo,
    What a lovely couple you and Grant make and your outfit is absolutely stunning.
    What a fabulous place to dine, amazing architecture.
    I can understand your pride of the last picture...great shot!
    Thanks so much for sharing a place I would never get to see.
    Sunny :)

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  4. Love the outfit! And you two are stunning. How fun to go on a dinner date at such an unusual looking place. Great perspective on that last shot.

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  5. That is just a beautiful venue. So extravagant to have a restaurant on every floor! There is so much to take in. Your outfit is just as lovely as I imagined it would be. Thank you for sharing your night with us. It looks like you had a nice time.

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  6. What a stunning outfit Jo!! Love it and that hotel certainly is one of the best I have seen. Very beautiful.

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  7. Thanks Betsy;) it was a great night for me. I usually stay around the flat in a pair of khaki shorts and T-shirt. Dressing up was actually much of the fun. Look forward to your video.

    Thanks Pat, it was...

    Thank you Sunny;) you're so sweet. The architecture is so special. I love blogger: we get to share things with other wonderful people around the world! Have a great day.

    Hi Gaelyn;) thanks for your kind comment:) I didn't hold out much hope for the last photo so I was THRILLED when I downloaded it. It is WAY better than the Internet photos of the hotel shot at night.

    Hi Joyful: thanks for joining me today - glad I could share this experience with you.

    Hi Joan;) thanks. The outfit (shoes, bag, dress, lame t-shirt cost the equivalent of R630! As good as anything I could buy at Queens Park or similar boutique for much much more... The hotel was so out of [my] world and a great treat!

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  8. You looked stunning, Jo and what a beautiful hotel - I wonder if it is related to the Burj in Dubai ? The decor is amazing and the food sounded delicious. Some great vegetarian options, too ... I really enjoyed this post :)

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  9. Thanks Lynda, you are so sweet! It is related to the Burj in Dubai. The building is stunning and I am keen to visit one of the other restaurants soon. Have a great day!

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  10. Wow ! what a hotel ! it must cost a fortune to spend a night there.
    You look gorgeous in this outfit, it's very chic !!

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  11. Amazing how glamourous you can look and still abide by the dress code. You look stunning. The hotel is very flash and I always thought the Sudan was a poor country. Glad you could get out of the flat and kick your heels up.

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  12. Gattina;) I think it is probably very expensive. Many tourists use it though and lots of business people. Thanks for your kind comment.

    Hi diane;) These are the outfits many of the [younger] women wear - sheer tee-shirts under halter neck, spaghetti straps and bare shoulder tops. I loved the look and thought I'd give it a try! I must admit it felt really good to dress up and "go out" fir a change. The Sudan is very poor; mostly in the South. People seem to cope better in the city and of course, Khartoum has thousands of Expats living and working here.

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  13. you are looking gorgeous!
    you sure must have had a super evening!

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  14. Gorgeous outfit! The hotel and restaurant zare really elegant. Wonderful photos, Jo!

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  15. Wow such a wonderful place!
    You two are great looking.
    Beautiful post Jo.

    Have a lovely week both of you.

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  16. What a fabulous place, Jo! Really spectacular and you and Grant look terrific! Love your outfit! It's stunning! Do love all your pics, they're fantastic! Thanks for the tour! Hope your week is going well! Enjoy!

    Sylvia

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  17. Wow - what a place. It's stunning as is your outfit.

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  18. You two make a lovely couple! All the pics are to be proud of!
    I'm glad I didn't have to fabricate those stair stringers, they look like a nightmare to build...
    Looks like you all had a good time!
    Take care and God bless!

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  19. I love your outfit! What a great looking couple you two are! Nice shots of that fabulous hotel. Your last shot is really good. (Jo, your guess was right...I have not been well...had two surgeries and I am slowly recovering...thanks for the thoughts)

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  20. You got some great shots that evening! The night shot of the hotel is especially interesting. Thanks for visiting my world and the pincushion is also call scabiosa here.

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  21. That's what I call a hotel!

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  22. You found a lovely very special outfit to wear, just as well there was an under garment it does look sheer. You make a lovely couple. The evening sound pretty good too.

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Thank you for visiting my blog and taking the time to leave a comment. I appreciate your feedback. Jo