First of all, thanks to you all lovely people for your contributions to this forum. Unfortunately, I did not find much info for travellers who practice the Islamic and thought this new thread might assist others as well as myself.
My wife & I ,both in our late 40's and practicing muslims, both professionals in Finance & research and intend to visit Switzerland around June. I have been living in England from a very young age. I had visited Switzerland as a teenager backpacking with a mate and want to bring my wife. The plan is as follows. (1) Fly to Zurich (or perhaps Geneva) and spend 2 nights at the point of arrival. Take a train to Interlaken and spend 3 nights and then fly back to London. I am of poor health with walking difficulties but gratefully not wheelchair bound.
HOW YOU CAN HELP US:
(1) Pls suggest any muslim run guesthouses or other suitable accomodation around £50 per night. This will make us feel at home. However, we are very open minded and have friends of all religions and colour. Weare not biased against anyone.
(2) Suggest what to do/see during our stay.
(3) What travel passes we need to buy depending on our itinary you suggest.
(4) Please suggest or advise how to eat with our Islamic Ethics. My wife and I are both good at cooking. If we are in a guest house, we can cook a great meal for our hosts to show our appreciation.
(5) Last, but perhaps the most important point, it would be great to visit some mosques for the dual purpose of meeting fellow muslims and for offering our daily prayers.
Whether you are Muslim or not, we look forward to your response and express our gratitude and appreciation in advance. We wish you a peaceful day and thank you for taking the time to read this post.
Salaam Aleikum, there are plenty of Lebanese, Morrocan and Turkish restaurants but I'm not sure if they are truly halal. Good luck with your inquiry.
This site may help you as well:
http://www.islam.ch/joomla/
Good luck
MG
One question, why do you ask for "muslim run guesthouses" ? I am not aware of that these would be any different from others. Besides you also spoke of cooking well yourselves so why limit your choice deliberately!
probably for a Muslim woman there is more discretion.
In my opinion probability of that is higher with a Swiss (also read as non Muslim). But I could be wrong also.
Not to be too pessimistic but Switzerland is not exactly "pro-Islam", what with banning the building of minarets and the reactions to veiled women I see while out and about.
I would suggest you seek Muslims living in Switzerland who would be happy to welcome you to their home and that you return the favour at a future date. Because any guesthouse within your budget is going to be very hard to find, religious considerations aside.
There is a good Ahmadi presence in Zurich, although knowing more about your specific relgious affiliation would help me further. I'd always approach a mosque in your destination city for these sorts of questions. They'll then be able to refer you to some of the more interested/pious families in the congregation who should gladly take you in either for free or for very little money.
this is the translated website of the Ahmadi community in Zurich for example - they have a nice mosque (with a minaret and everything) in the Forchstrasse which can be reached from Bellvue by taking the 11 towards Rehalp and getting off at Balgrist
http://translate.google.com/translat...adiyya.ch/cms/
I recall reading a magazine article about some hotels in the Interlaken area that are particularly tailored for muslim guests. Unfortunately, it has been a while and I don't have the article anymore. My point is there are some out there. Sorry I am not able to specify which one.
The hotels went out of their way to accommodate the customs of muslims; e.g., the food in the restaurant, observance of certain hours, facilities for women, etc.
Google might be your friend, or the Interlaken tourist office. I'll have a look now.
we get a lot of mulsim visitors in Geneva, especially in the summertime, so the restaurants are very used to advertising halal cooking. If you land in Geneva, at the airport where you collect your baggage, there is a machine that gives you a ticket for free transport into town. Many Muslims stay here and there are all sorts of ranges of hotels so you shouldnt have any problems at all.
For halal food, I wouldn't worry about it - it's a holiday, just don't eat meat (you'll survive). You can find vegetarian and fish almost everywhere.
Totally the false impression. Muslim tourism is a large part of Switzerland's hospitality industry. It is smart business to cater to them. But I suppose the Aargauers and backwoods places do not bother, so no point in visiting those places either.
A similar thread, perhaps with useful information
Muslim on Vacation in Zurich next month...
Yes but that seems to be geared towards the wealthier travellers from the gulf states.
This is somewhat true that hotels specializing in muslim patrons can be considered premium service, though I would not make assumptions about the OP's wealth based on his thriftiness. The wealthiest people I know are also the thriftiest.
I would still recommend the OP make an attempt to find those muslim-friendly hotels. Not EVERYONE in Switzerland is xenophobic.
Here's an interview with a manager at the Metropole in Interlaken regarding Muslim guests and how their needs are met.
Yeay! I think that is one of the articles I read. I also recall another article and a TV program regarding another establishment. So, yes, they are out there.
Wow, the guy is practically bending over backwards. While I respect that every religion has different needs, I also think that you should be aware of other countries having different ways of life and adapt. I don't wander around Abu Dhabi in shorts and a strappy top either and accept that my uncovered blonde hair gets unwanted attention so I think you should be able to deal with a technician having to come into a hotel room in the event of an emergency.
These are for tourists, and it is the hospitality business. They don't come here to become Swiss, they simply want to go sight-seeing. Besides, business is about money, not politics.
The Metrople is a 5 star hotel so of course he is bending over backwards to take the Saudi petrodollar.