ANSAmed Italy
King Salman of Saudi Arabia will spend his August holidays in the northwestern Morocco port town of Tangier for the third year running.
The king, who recently severed his country’s diplomatic ties with Qatar, is expected to arrive in the country on Monday.
Despite the diplomatic crisis, the Saudi royal family will be vacationing not far from emir of Qatar’s family, which chose the inland mountainous town of Ifran, less than 400 kilometres away, for its holidays.
King Salman will make his a working holiday, but he has left the kingdom in the hands of his son, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, 31, who was named on June 21 as heir to the throne.
The Moroccan government has chosen to remain neutral in the face of the diplomatic crisis with Qatar.
Two jets are expected to arrive at the Ibn Battouta Airport in Tangier from Jeddah on Monday evening, one with King Salman and his delegation aboard, and the other carrying his wife and part of his family.
The Saudi royal family has reserved 924 hotel rooms, for around 1,000 guests total; the large number of guests has made it impossible to find accommodations in 5-star hotels in the city for the entire month of August.
The delegation also had to comb auto dealerships in Marrakech, Rabat, and Casablanca to provide all of the 453 luxury cars it required.
Preparations in Tangier for the delegation’s arrival have been underway for about two weeks, since the time that the kitchen, cleaning, and ceremonial staff of 143 men and women arrived in the royal family’s luxurious estate with a view of the Atlantic Ocean. (ANSAmed).
