ITS softly lit classical-style lobby has inspired many authors and thinkers; many artists have painted and many poets written their verses here. The Cosmopolitan Hotel still has something of the past about it. The location is one of its best features. It's just off a quiet back road near Talaat Harb St, downtown Cairo, within easy walking distance (about 15 minutes) of the Egyptian Museum and the Nile. It is located near the old building of the Egyptian Stock Exchange, which was built about a century ago. In this old part of town, you feel that you are no longer in Egypt but rather in Paris, with its beautiful statues and buildings boasting exquisite architecture. In 1923, the Swiss Charles Albert Behler (1868-1937), whose name is connected with much of Cairo's best architecture at the time, ordered the Italian architect Alfon Sasou, who built many buildings here in the Italian style, to construct the Metropolitan, a hotel whose name was later changed to the Cosmopolitan. In 1927, the hotel opened for business. Outside, there was a small garden with a fountain, sadly replaced in the 1950s with a clothes shop and a cafe'. The hotel, which consists of six levels and a roof, contains 84 rooms, six suites, a bar, restaurant, bazaar and reception. It has a very high ceilings, rectangular windows and statues sculptured on the walls. When you enter the hotel, you find yourself in reception, with a round table made of black marble in the middle and a huge crystal chandelier that hangs down all the way from the third floor. On your left hand stands the veteran receptionist, ready to welcome you with his big smile. He motions you to sit down on a comfortable, French-style chair near an old wooden heater. After a little while, Am Gaber, the longest-serving member of staff, who's been with the hotel for the past 30 years, comes to take you to the main lift, which is like something out of an old movie with its clanking double doors. At every floor, you feel the soft light, which comes from the sun, reflected on the coloured glass windows. Then you reach suite number 506, which has been occupied by the rich and famous. The suite contains two beds, a closet built into the wall and a desk, all made of black wood coated with copper. If you decide to descend the marble stairs, you can admire the simple but tasteful paintings hanging on the walls. To the right of reception, there is a cafeteria, where famous Egyptian literati and intellectuals like Yehia el-Taher Abdullah, Youssef Abu Raya, Abdel-Rahman el-Abnoudi and Salah Anani once met. At the other side, there is a bar, which Egypt's most famed writers Naguib Mahfouz, Amal Donkol and others used to frequent. Next to the bar is the French-style restaurant. There are no swimming pools or great views, but it's a great place to meet your friends and very accessible to other central parts of Cairo. In other words, it's ideal for a short stay. The Cosmopolitan Hotel is located at 1 Ibn Tahlab St., downtown Cairo.
