Thought of just sharing my thoughts about this subject… and WOW you as I was WOWed last weekend….I just came back from North Coast near Alexandria… I was invited for EMAAR event Sidi Abdel Rahman, their project is called MARASSI…
They were launching the beach and the compound… and they invited 12,000 invitees (top notch… crème de la crème in Egypt)
Let me describe the event for you, so you can imagine, or at least have the imaginary vision of how it was… and would love to read your comments later… I will not put my feedback.. I will just wait for yours….
We arrived at the location of the event, and we went to a huge parking area, where you cannot see the place from cars… the smallest or least car brand we were seeing was a BMW model 2006… which was considered OLD car compared to the unbelievable number and brands of cars parking in the parking slot.
We parked our cars somewhere far from the main gate, then we went on foot (a 5 minutes walking distance)…
There were two main entrances, one for home owners there and one for guests… we entered from the guests main gate… as soon as you enter from the gate, you are faced with a smooth tiles passage surrounding rich green landscapes and fountains, moving around the landscape in a serpent-like style… a golf cart takes you all through the passage and drops you off in front of a huge wooden gate that leads to the main lounge and changing area on one side, and to the beach on the other side…
We took our things and crossed the gate… two ladies and one man were distributing a give-away bag (high quality cloth bag) with Marassi logo on it in navy blue….
Then we entered to the beach… the moment we entered we felt like we are not in Egypt anymore… wooden stages on the right and left… on top of them lucrative seating areas in white square and rectangular shape couches and sofas… with glass and dark brown wooden tables in the middle of each seating setup…
At the back end of each stage… there is a bar that offers any kind of drink that you can ever imagine… starting from water and upwards till you reach Champaign and Baileys… in addition to food buffets continuously replenished with the best and most expensive food ever… just to name some of the food items… including - but not limited to – Caviar, Smoked Salmon, fish, pasta and ravioli stations, shrimps and calamari stations…etc… in addition to high end pastry serving Maracon and Marron Glassee all the time with pass-around trays with white glove butters service.
Anyway… we passed this part and continued to reach the sand part of the beach (before that it was wooden stages and smooth black tiles)… the moment you put your foot into the sand you are faced with a huge square bar (again) that serves drinks… and beside it there is a spot that distributes branded towels of Marassi… with different colors, varying from red, pink, orange, green apple, navy blue, dark blue and more…
We took our towels and we walked towards the left… We passed in front of another couches seating area on the left and beside it there was a huge fully equipped and lit stage, with all kind of sound and entertainment effects… on top of the stage there was an impressive Brazilian show of 6 women dancing in glittering swimsuits and wearing feather on top of their heads…I can tell you the music was really amazing, the show was impressive… not only this one…but all the shows that took place in that day… there was about nine shows all through the day… some are Middle Eastern singers and some are International…
We crossed the stage area at our left and reached the beach itself…. So crowded with people… again I want to comment on this one… the crowd was really a quality crowd… you can see people (especially women) as if there are coming out of VOGUE or ELLE magazines… all dressed in a fashionable stylish swimsuits… make up… jewelry (including diamonds, and may be some precious stones that we never heard of as they are rare to find)… the Gucci and Louis Viton bags are all over the beach… the Dolce and Gabana swim pack is there… Christian Dior and Chanel fragrance is all over… everybody is shining like diamonds… glittering like gold in style… no tacky or excess look there…
and everybody is having fun.. either eating… drinking… watching the show… or just enjoy swimming in the pure light blue and turquoise color water with white soft sand sinking under their stepping feet….We took the way to the left on a high ramp (like a small hill) were our friends (who were home owners) were sitting there… The view from the top is really relaxing… watching people dancing on the beach… some swimming… and looking at the horizon and with its dark blue line highlighting the sky and framing the view in a beautiful square… complemented with summer breeze coming from north wind…
The seating up in the hill was different… it was like big bean bags… when you sit on them you sink in a comfortable way that takes the body shape and holds it for you…
The seating was under the shades of an off-white tent… covering many seating areas (about 4 or 6 seating areas beside each others, each one is in 6 bean bags, two tables in the middle, and 4 small beach chairs branded as Marassi)…We left of things there and went back to the stage and buffet area, where we had our rich lunch and drinks.. we went back and upwards to the hill and took some nice photos with the horizon and sea view, then went for a swim… I can tell you the sea was really calm… waiting to embrace us within its gentle waves….
I can tell you we really enjoyed our time… the ambiance… the mood… the music… the dance.. the crowd… the food… the drinks… everything was amazing….
I actually told you that I will not put my comments… but I really could not hold them back… as it was really an amazing event… EMAAR set a different standard for an event… they went very far to please everybody and to do an event that will be the talk of town for almost ONE year… if not more….It is really a LIFETIME event… that happens once only… the perfection level they reached in this event was really impressive… I really cannot find words to describe what I’ve experienced there… but all I can say… that everybody was WOWed… not only me…
Wish you were all there…. Until the next post… CHEERS!!!!
13 comments:
Hey Riham,
Cool detailed description - it really was like I was there... you just described an event that sounds like any other average event in Dubai (where I currently reside).
It is good that Egypt is finally starting to know the meaning of "Quality" as you described - but quite sad that it had to be a foreign investment & not stemming from our own people. It is sad that we can not do something like this on our own. We have everything in Egypt - except the will to do things really right w bezemma.
Anyways, glad you enjoyed the event & keep up your blog it is pretty cool.
cheers!
well...
the one who can't find anything to do....buy peiguts and fly them:))))
i guess for me and rest of guys...since the least care was BMW 2006...then i guess we will hope that someday it make a free event...so we can take the time travel machine like u did:))
Dear Riham,
Wonderful discription, as if i were there.
who did that event management????
is it by Dubai Manager "Tammy Farah"???
Moataz Amin
Hi Riham,
You have a great eye for details. Sounds like a big party event & presentation was icing on the cake.
All the glitter finally matters only if the place has substance.
Waiting to see some pictures.
Sada
The organizer was the Egyptian team of EMAAR... the catering and stage setup was teh Egyptian Mamoudaki.... The Decor and furniture was Daghash... WHAT AN AMAZING JOB :):)
Reham, an excellent article with so much description, I am glad you had fun as your words describes the level of happiness you had when typing the article. Glad to feel it.
About the event, let me add some of my critics.
I am amazed with Egyptians and the way they became so unreal and superficial,
I remember the first time I went to Sidi Abdel Rahman probably when I was less than 10 years old (30 years ago,,,) my memories was an excellent beach, pure white silky sand, transparent water that you can see through the small fishes moving between your legs, excellent weather specially during the hot months of summer.
I also remember the quite torn down (30 years ago) hotel, I remember the military vehicle that was stopping everyone and checking what they had, I remember the military or police officer who was in a power struggle with him self and the rest of the world trying to prove how important he is looking after this military area (the Al Alaamin ruins are nearby and he is protecting them… He is also worried about the intruders from Lybia and Kathafi who might come across and takeover the treasures of Egypt)…
In summary, me memories of Sidi Abdel Rahman 30 years ago was an excellent nature wasted by some idiots in control.
Five years ago, I went to Sidi Abdel Rahman with some friends and family to spend a day, I found the same excellent nature, same torn down hotel but much less visitor and the military/police officer is no longer in existence. Boring yes, but the company and the nature of the place was excellent so we had good time and ran away back the next day early morning when we ran out of supply as there is nothing nearby to get groceries for the kids.
Two years ago, in the summer of 2005, I was invited to the same spot but to a private party done by someone called Ma7modaki, we arrived at 4:00pm.. Everything was free, Food, Drinks, Alcohol you get from different serving points distributed across the beach. You can also get free 7asheesh and Bango from friends smoking this suppressant drug openly at the beach. What struck me most was the serving points serving Alcoholic beverage didn’t have any age restriction, I saw kids the age of mine 12 and 10 years old drinking the Egyptian replica of Baccardi Breeze (not sure what its called), I guess the same open age restriction applies to the Drugs too.
I left the party early that night with the same impression a gift from god managed and run by idiots… The same impression I got when I left 5 and 30 years ago.
I read your article here Reham and I can’t say anything but thanks for your excellent talent on describing what you see and feel on writing, you should invest this beyond just your blog and diary, I am sure writing a short book would have loads of supporters, I promise you I will be the first. So you are with no doubt a talent and we all have to praise you.
However, with Reham’s excellent description of the EMAAR party, she managed to leave me with the same impression I had 2, 5 and 30 years ago but in a different way.
Sidi Abdel Rahman, an excellent gift from god but now managed by a smart business entity who will invest loads of cash bring in cranes and millions of tons of concrete damage the nature of the version beaches and sell it to the same idiots that couldn’t do anything to develop it over the course of the past whatever years. Sidi Abdel Rahman is just an example of the big Egypt
God bless Al Abaar and his Harvard Economics degree. He and his investors will save the lost treasures of Sidi Abdel Rahman, build concrete blocks and sell the new trend to the poor Egyptians that are still judging people by the 2006 BMW and the AP T3 or Montoya watch…
By the way, the 2006 BMW in Egypt is not authentic, it’s assembled in Egypt (Any one knows why???) The Audemars Piguet T-3 watch that costs more than $35000 that the trendy guy is wearing is a Replica he bought from Beirut or Bangkok in his last trip for $150….. (Anyone knows Why???)… Even the Replica Bacardi Breezer is a Replica, why we can’t get the real Breezer so our kids can feel the real effect of authentic Bacardi… God bless Egypt and all.
Excellent article, inspired me to write the above, Thanks ya Ruru miss you so much.
Hey Reham,
Wow you have really detailed everything i could see it while i read.
I think it was probably one hell of an event but as Jade said we wish a similar event, no a much better one would be organized and financed by an Egyptian business man.
Any way I hear a similar event will take place on the 31st of August but one can only enter with an invitation, so I will see you there if i get one.
Cheers,
Aliaa
hey riham how r u, i really liked the way u described the party, i was there also and i was amazed bgd 2wi, although i work in damac but i was so impressed by that party and by the way they are havig another one by 31st august hope its gonna be on the same standard. and hope the launch we o too in hurghada will be nice too
Dear Riham ,
I work for Emaar and I was in the party. I just wanted to let u know that every thing Emaar does is of great quality , thats why Emaar is number 1 in Egypt and the world today. I just donot agree with u that most of the guests were the cream De la cream of Egypt just because they are driving BMWs ofcourse not , because no adays in most cases u will find that any one is driving a Bmw.
I agree with the comment about BMWs any one in Egypt is no driving a Bmw !! no big deal any more!! most people have money , but if u go back to there hitory its terrible.
(top notch… crème de la crème in Egypt)
According to what measure?
When I said top notch.. Creme De La Creme in Egypt, I did not give a detailed description... just for the following reason...
Who may be considered creme de la creme for me might not be considered creme de la creme for others...
so simply and to cut it short... most people who attended the event were classy, rich and glittering...
so old money and new money people were there...
lazmito eah el ta32eed da tayb !
very cool post and u took the WOW out of ppl read this many times .. although i agree with Jade .. that its' considered an average event to others on Dubai masalan !
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