For months, everyone has been anticipatingly following the news of the arrival of penguins to be a part of Ski Egypt’s skating activity. However, they haven’t arrived; yet, they are expected to come before the end of the year, according to Ski Egypt’s officials’ statement.
Known for their quirky sense of humour, Egyptians made fun and created a lot of comics on the prices for visiting the “Egyptian penguins,” despite the fact that there are no official prices set for it yet. All of the prices widely spreading over social media are for the penguins’ visit to Ski Dubai; however, it’s expected that there will only be a slight difference in the prices between there and Ski Egypt. Nonetheless, the question remains: is the experience worth it?
The simplest answer is, if someone hasn’t been to a place where everything is covered with white or sensed the feeling of walking in a blizzard, then definitely yes!
The tremendous experience starts with the visitors’ special skating clothes, based on the individual’s weight and height. This happens with the friendly help from the staff, which initiate the feelings of leisure all along the excitement of a new experience.
For those who haven’t experienced the skating atmosphere before, it takes one only a couple of steps inside the closed area of Ski Egypt to feel the shock of the -2 degree Centigrade Celsius temperature. Trying to adapt with the snow, which is a totally a new experience for Egyptians, is sensed as the visitors start exploring its texture, how is it like to walk on it, and the fear of falling.
Spending a few minutes inside the spacious closed area is like a time machine. For once, visitors can feel they have actually travelled to the North Pole, with all of the small details, like the snow bridges and thick layers of slush, which successfully implement the feelings of travelling on the other side of the world. However, this feeling might be slightly irritated with the existence of a transparent wall that allows Mall of Egypt’s visitors to curiously keep an eye on Ski Egypt’s guests while moving and playing with snow.
Yet, the discomfort only lasts for a couple of minutes before the charm of slush and its details take visitors away, with excitement and joy of different snow activities washing away all that can ever annoy them. The extraordinary places play the perfect role for memorable moments to be captured on cameras.
After ten minutes, people would be surprised by the human body’s adaptability, as they stop feeling cold, and the heavyweight of the clothes becomes unnoticeable, leaving them to move frelly and play around.
Being a part of the North Pole couldn’t help but bring the most important question everyone was asking about: what if the penguins were actually there, what would it be like? And how would visitors react to seeing them for the first time in Egypt?
This brings back in mind all the comics Egyptians have been posting on social media, and they make perfect sense for the situation. This includes the comic in which a middle-class child explains the penguin to his mother as a duck walking on two feet, or another one that features two penguins stuck in the usual traffic on 6th of October bridge and asking for the direction to Mall of Egypt, as they have a work interview.
All of these comments put an additional sense of humour between visitors, leaving them seriously asking one question: when exactly are penguins coming to Egypt? Only to be jokingly answered, “we are working on applying for their Egyptian IDs.”
Majid Al-Futtaim announced the launch of Ski Egypt prior to the 25 January Revolution as the first entertainment city for ice skating in Egypt and Africa.
According to Ski Egypt’s regional manager, Omar El-Banna, the mall is considered a new creative way of promoting tourism in Egypt. “We aim to support economic growth, stimulate tourism, and provide job opportunities. Additionally, Ski Egypt encourages and reassures investors to pump greater capital into the Egyptian market. The project’s investments total approximately EGP 1.2 billion and represent a promising opportunity for our investments in the Egyptian market,” he said.
The project comes after the great success Ski Dubai achieved ever since its opening in 2005, becoming one of UAE’s most famous entertainment destinations and attracting around one million visitors a year to enjoy a variety of activities that suit all ages and levels, including an 85m-AED indoor ski-slope as well as skiing facilities.
Built over 13,200 square metres, Ski Egypt is able to accommodate 1,200 visitors at the same time. It also contains 7,000 tonnes of snow and features a diverse range of activities, such Snow Park, Snow Play area, Polar Express Train, Zorb Ball, Tube Run, Avalanche Café, Ice Cave Café, and Snow Flake Café.
Ski Egypt provides a new and exciting experience for family and friends. It features a ski school with highly trained and qualified instructors for beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. Additionally, all staff are highly qualified and multi-lingual, enabling them to interact with tourists.
