FRANKFURT,
May 28, 2006 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Alcohol from mini
bars and the nude photos in the fitness area have been removed and porn
TV channels turned off in a hotel in northern Germany, which plays host
to the Saudi soccer team vying in the World Cup due to kick off on June
9.
The
three-time Asian champions went Saturday night, May 27, from Frankfurt
airport to the Hotel Dolce, in the town of Bad Nauheim, which has been
especially prepared for their arrival, Reuters reported.
The
luxurious hotel is trying its best to shield the Saudis from all those
western ways as they took up 59 of its 159 rooms for the finals.
"They
will be able to watch 35 Arabic language TV channels in their rooms so
they can see all the (World Cup) games in their own language,"
Michel Prokop, the hotel's general manager, told Reuters.
"We
will leave the Pay-TV on in their rooms but the porn movie channels will
of course be turned off," he added.
He
said all the alcohol has been removed from the mini bars and replaced
with soft drinks.
The
Saudi team became the fifth World Cup team to settle into their training
base, warming up for the much-awaited soccer gala.
Saudi
Arabia is in Group H with Ukraine, Spain and Tunisia. They are due to
play a friendly against Turkey in Offenbach, near Frankfurt, on
Wednesday, May 31.
Sensitivity
Courses
Prokop
said all 123 hotel staff members have been taking eight-hour courses in
sensitivity training and on top of that are learning some basic Arabic
phrases such as "Hello", "Welcome" and "Have a
nice day".
"We're
following some basic 'do's and don'ts'. The whole staff is taking cross
cultural training sessions to make them aware of the differences of
Germany and Saudi Arabia," he told Reuters.
"Among
the things they're learning is about dress codes, that skirts should not
be too short," he said.
"To
avoid all problems, all women staffers are going to wear trousers
instead of dresses."
With
the help of the local Islamic community, the hotel set up a separate
prayer room and will also remove bibles from Saudi rooms.
Germany
is rolling out the red carpets for the 31 foreign teams and a million
overseas visitors heading its way for the World Cup next month.
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