FYI Wed Aug 28, 2002 12:25 pm
--- In [email protected], [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Saudi king's simple family vacation -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Associated Press Originally published August 18, 2002 MALAGA, Spain - Saudi King Fahd moved on to the next phase of his summer vacation Wednesday, taking his 12-aircraft entourage from Switzerland to Spain, where he has a mansion on the Mediterranean coast. Dozens of luxury limousines and buses were on hand at Malaga airport to escort the monarch and his entourage to his residence in the southern resort of Marbella, the Spanish news agency Efe reported. Earlier Wednesday, Jean-Luc Portier, a member of Geneva airport's management team, said the 81-year-old monarch had left with a fleet of 12 large passenger jets. He had been vacationing since May in a residence he owns in Geneva. A Saudi Arabian Embassy official said the king is expected to spend a month on the Costa del Sol. It is the first time in three years that Fahd has visited his Marbella palace - a stately mansion resembling the White House in Washington. Local press reports say the 234-foot royal yacht, Al Diriyah, was docked at Marbella's fashionable Puerto Banus marina and many royal family members had already arrived. Shopkeepers have been stocking up on luxury items to cater to the royal group, reported to number thousands of people. Marbella city officials estimate that the Saudis will spend $6 million per day during their stay. The last visit, in 1999, generated $70 million for the local economy. For much of Fahd's stay in Geneva, many of the city's five-star hotels were booked solid by members of his entourage. Fahd's fellow monarch, United Arab Emirates' leader Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan, was unable to find space at his usual city hotel and stayed at his villa in France near the Swiss border. Last month, Fahd underwent surgery to remove a cataract from his right eye at a university hospital in Geneva. He earlier had an operation at the hospital to remove a blood clot from one of his eyes. He arrived in Spain in a wheelchair. The stay in Switzerland was Fahd's first foreign vacation in three years. He designated Crown Prince Abdullah, his half brother and the kingdom's de-facto ruler, to run affairs in his absence. The monarch suffered a stroke in 1995, leaving him with short-term memory loss and an inability to concentrate for long stretches. During meetings with foreign dignitaries, he is usually accompanied by close family members to avoid any potential embarrassment. Suffering arthritis, diabetes and a bad knee, the monarch moves in a wheelchair and uses a cane for short walks. Copyright © 2002, The Baltimore Sun --- End forwarded message --- ------------------------------------ Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] List owner : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
