[nasional_list] [ppiindia] Park Avenue Style Awaits the Wealthy at Tent City

From: "Ambon" <sea@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: <"Undisclosed-Recipient:;"@freelists.org>
Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2006 00:29:06 +0100
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http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1&section=0&article=75980&d=9&m=1&y=2006

            Monday, 9, January, 2006 (09, Dhul Hijjah, 1426)


                  Park Avenue Style Awaits the Wealthy at Tent City
                  Wael Mahdi, Arab News 
                   

                 
                        

                        Lavish facilities are provided to the super-rich 
pilgrims in luxury tents in Mina. (AN photos by Hasan Hatrash)    
                        
                  MINA, 9 January 2006 - From the inside, it looks like a 
modern, luxury apartment in Manhattan, complete with Swedish furniture and 
indoor plumbing. From the outside, it is just another tent in a Haj camp in the 
middle of the holy site of Mina, Saudi Arabia. 

                  Five-star service is what the pilgrim who has rented this 
ornamental tent is going to receive when he and his entourage arrive at the 
Adwaia Al-Iman pilgrims' camp. 

                  It is not common to see such a tent next to those of the 
commoners in Mina or in any other holy site during the Haj season. But, 
nowadays, some companies are betting there are wealthy pilgrims eager to shell 
out prices far greater than those of any luxury executive suite on Park Avenue. 

                  Tariq Saeed Hussein, the owner of the company that operates 
the service, told Arab News that this luxurious tent was constructed for a VIP 
pilgrim who wanted a special and comfortable place during his Haj journey. 

                  The interior designing, partitioning and construction of the 
company's showcase tent took three days. The process included building an 
internal restroom and setting high ceilings. 

                  "It is more like building a small room than setting a tent, 
since providing the internal bathrooms requires heavy plumbing jobs," said 
Khalifa Kamil, the senior coordinator at the luxury camp near Mina's Al-Jisr 
Hospital.

                  The tent is divided into two main sections. The first section 
has three lavish bedrooms, a large living room and two bathrooms (one is in the 
master bedroom). The other section is smaller and it has one bedroom, one 
bathroom and a medium living room.

                  Even by the standards of the rich pilgrims that seek out 
Hussein's services, this tent is an extreme example. 

                  "The charge for providing this tent is SR800,000 ($213,000) 
for five days only," said Hussein. "But this charge also includes five-star 
transportation and meals." 

                  That amounts to SR160,000 ($42,000) per day, compared to the 
highest price for a plebeian's tent of SR3,000 ($800), which also includes 
meals and transportation. 

                  Hussein says that the cost reflects the difficulties of 
establishing an urban haven in the middle of the harsh desert environment 
around Mina.

                  His company offers other, more affordable plans, including 
the reservation of an entire tent for one pilgrim. The cost of reserving an 
entire 16-square-meter tent at this camp is between SR15,000 and SR20,000 
(between $4,000 and $5,300). 

                  "The government charges us by the square meter of leased land 
in Mina, and we have to utilize every meter within our authorized territory," 
he said. "The guest must bear the cost of phasing out other people from the 
tent." 

                  "This will give the guests a feeling that they are staying in 
an urban area," said Kamil. "Many companies are now specializing in five-star 
services for upper class and VIP pilgrims, and many others are heading in this 
direction." 

                  Based on his experience in managing Haj tours, Kamil said 
that combining regular and extravagant services will become the next trend in 
the industry, and it is in the benefit of most regular camps to offer it in an 
attempt to upgrade their service and diversify their client base.
                 
           
     


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[nasional_list] [ppiindia] Park Avenue Style Awaits the Wealthy at Tent City

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