Swiss Trail App documents Swiss landmarks dated back to 180 years

CAIRO- 12 February 2018: Swiss Ambassador to Egypt Paul Garnier declared the launch of the mobile application “Swiss Trail” during a ceremony held on Sunday at a Swiss Hotel.

The Embassy of Switzerland in Cairo launched a mobile application, titled “Swiss Trail” that unfolds all of the Swiss-inspired landmarks, along with the Swiss-led hotels and resorts in Cairo to boost tourism to Egypt through information technology.

During a ceremony, Garnier said that the application aims to inform people, whether Swiss or not, about Swiss heritage in Cairo, adding that preparing for the application started during the tenure of the former Swiss Ambassador to Egypt Marcus Leitner.

Garnier added that Swiss people have lived in Egypt since the Roman era, and some of them are fascinated with Egyptian history and culture, adding that between 1500 and 1700 Swiss citizens live in Egypt and around 11 Swiss landmarks can be found in Egypt, which promotes the relations between Egypt and Switzerland.

He further remarked that it is great to witness the landmarks left by Swiss architecture and artists in Egypt through the app, stressing that the app follows the creative ideas that formed the historic and cultural ties between Egypt and Switzerland.

The GPS-based application is considered as a guide to Swiss landmarks in Egypt, helping its users to reach these places and to learn detailed information about them, including their historical background so people can actively learn more about the Swiss culture.

“We launch this application to spread knowledge about the strong ties among people,” he said.
He stressed that the application aims to highlight Egyptian-Swiss relations, and the application will be developed to include the Swiss landmarks outside Cairo.

In this regard, Chief Executive Officer of Orkotech Omar Shafik, who designed the application, expressed his pleasure toward the application that will promote Egyptian-Swiss relations, adding that some of the documentation in the application 180 years-old and highlights the social, technological and cultural cooperation between Switzerland and Egypt.

Amongst the Swiss-themed venues were the Windsor Hotel and infamous Cafe Groppi in Downtown Cairo, which is believed to have been founded by a Swiss chef and chocolate maker Giacomo Groppi in 1909.