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This page was last updated on 30 Jan 2009
!Welcome to Egypt With Mara
Mara House rated No. 1 on Trip Advisor!!!
ABOUT MARA
Born in Limerick and lived half my life in Cork, I moved to Luxor in Egypt (without giving it a whole lot of thought to be
honest) in 2003 where (also without much thought) I bought a piece of land and
built Mara House, which consisted of 9 apts. and on the ground floor (opened in
Aug 2009) a restaurant and bar..."Restaurant Salahadeen" - the latter
being the brainchild of my son, Stephen, who directed the
project and is now running it.
During my time in Egypt I have gone through many
personal changes, many learning curves and I am quite sure there are many more
to come! I have a passable knowledge of the Arabic language and, I hope, a
rather good understanding of the Egyptian people and their culture. I fell
in love with Egypt the moment the plane door opened. I would be lying if I
said it has all been plain sailing here...it has not but I think I can safely
say that I have found my feet and regained my balance! MARA'S DREAM To share with you the Egypt I fell in love with, the
ancient mystical land of your dreams and the best that modern Egypt has to
offer. To make Mara House a haven for travellers
who want to explore and experience Luxor and it's sacred monuments free from the
street hassle which, unfortunately, Luxor has received much bad press for. To share (with any one who is interested!)
my own personal understanding of the ancient monuments, the wisdom of the
ancients (such as I understand) and their place in the Universe and how they
affect and influence our lives in the 21st Century, To run a restaurant -
Restaurant Salahadeen, where
visitors can feast on real fresh food, cooked and presented in traditional
Egyptian family ways. No freezing, no preservatives, no colourings, no
fast foods....just honest to God fresh unprocessed food and great Egyptian wine!
Yes, it takes hours to cook and some of has to be prepared the night before such
as soaking beans etc. so advance reservations are recommended! To
serve this wonderful food in an atmosphere and space which is designed to take
the visitor back to another time...the time of Salahadeen of the Crusades and the Mamluks who
came after him. All the above is a pretty tall order and
we are by no means finished in our ideas for the house but we have made a start!
And with your friendship and support my dreams for Mara House will keep evolving
and improving. Hopefully on your return visits you will notice
the growth and changes! Email Mara How to find Mara House: Walking: Station
Street is an extremely wide street running from Luxor Temple to the the train
station. Go in the right hand door of the front entrance of the train station,
walk through security and turn left, down the
stairs, turn right, walk straight ahead and up the stairs out onto the street. You are
now behind the train station. The street you are now on is Salakhana St. (but
you may see a sign saying "Nozha St" they changed the name but everyone calls it
Salakhana St.) Turn right and walk along Salakhana
St. It soon opens out into a two way street system (wide). Keep
walking for about 5 mins and you will come to a large
open green area on the left. Here you will see some coaches and buses.
The big pink/peach building is Mara House. There are 3 stories not counting the
roof terrace or the ground floor. There is a sign on the top corner of the
building "EGYPT WITH MARA" Some taxis will want
to take you to other places (for commission) and some may be ok. They will
all say "yes" when you say Mara House. Best directions to give them is to
go to the Train Station then direct them yourself as follows: 1...keeping the train
station on your right....follow the wall of the train track until you come to
the opening (2 mins), then cross over the train track by turning right (chaotic
experience if the barrier has been closed...enjoy it!). Then turn sharp
right so you are following the train track back the way you came (except that
you are on the other side of the track of course!). Now you are in
Salakhana St. Keep going on this street for 2 or 3 mins. You will
see to a big yellow building on your right and this is the last building (fields
next to it). Just before the building turn left and you will come into a
space with tour buses. This is Viking Bus Garage. You will see the
sign "EGYPT WITH MARA" on the top of a big building...this is Mara
House! Welcome! If you need you can get the driver to call my number 0105462480
for directions.Contact Information for Mara House & "Egypt With
Mara"