THE TERRACE OF THE WINTER PALACE HOTEL AT TEA TIME IS THE SMARTEST RENDEZVOUS IN EGYPT

By Karl K. Kitchen

You can tell how long any one has been in Luxor by the spot where he takes tea on the terrace of the Winter Palace Hotel. A new arrival invariably hugs the edge to get an unobstructed view of the Nile. The visitor who has been there several days is content to sit farther back, while the winter resident prefers to take his tea in the garden on the other side of the hotel, or if he happens to be an American, to replace tannic acid with cocktails at the bar.

The tea hour is “the” hour in Luxor. It is then, that the hotels—of which the Winter Palace is the most important—are at their liveliest. All the tourists are back from their excursions to the Valley of the Tombs the Kings, Medinet Abu, Karnak and the other glories of the past, and tea is not only an appropriate social function but a welcome stimulant after a tiring day in the broiling sun.

The Winter Palace is the rendezvous for all the foreign colony of Luxor at this hour. On its spacious terrace, which flanks the Nile for the entire length of the hotel, or in its beautiful gardens are to be found the most famous travelers, the greatest Egyptologists and archeologists and world celebrities who have come to Luxor to pay homage to King Tut.