Sarkies Brothers
The Sarkies Brothers were a group of brothers of Armenian ethnicity. They created a dynasty that has influence throughout the region.
They were best known for founding a chain of luxury hotels throughout Southeast Asia. The brothers were:
- Martin Sarkies (1852–1912)
- Tigran Sarkies (1861–1912)
- Aviet Sarkies (1862–1923)
- Arshak Sarkies (1868–1931)
In chronological order, the hotels founded or run by the brothers were:[1]
- April 15, 1884: Eastern Hotel, George Town, Penang, Malaysia
- 1885: Oriental Hotel, George Town, Penang, Malaysia. Previously the Hotel de l’Europe.[2]
- 1 December 1887: Raffles Hotel, Singapore
- August 1889: Eastern Hotel sold, Oriental Hotel renamed as Eastern & Oriental Hotel
- 1891: Kartika Wijaya, Batu, Java, Indonesia[3]
- 1901: Strand Hotel, Rangoon (Yangon), Burma (Myanmar). Sold by the brothers in 1925.
- 1910: Hotel Majapahit (as Hotel Oranje), Surabaya, Indonesia, founded by Martin's son Lucas Martin Sarkies (1876–?)
- 1923: Sea View Hotel, Singapore,[4] originally built in 1906 and operated by the Sarkies Brothers under lease until 1931.
- 1929: Crag Hotel, Penang Hill, Malaysia.[5]
In addition, the brothers' cousin Arathoon Sarkies (1882–1932) managed the Adelphi Hotel in Singapore from 1903 to 1908.[6]
Arshak, the last of the brothers, died on January 9, 1931. On June 10 of the same year, a bankruptcy case was filed against the Raffles Hotel, eventually resulting in the Sarkies family losing control of their hotels in Singapore and Penang.[1] The hotel in Surabaya, however, stayed in the hands of the Sarkies' descendants until 1969.[7]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Sarkies Brothers. Famous Hotels. Retrieved on 2011-10-23.
- ^ The History of Armenians in Singapore and Malaysia. Amassia.com.au. Retrieved on 2011-10-23.
- ^ Kartika Wijaya Hotel. Kartikawijaya.com. Retrieved on 2011-10-23.
- ^ Old Sea View Hotel. Infopedia.nl.sg. Retrieved on 2011-10-23.
- ^ Chong, Debra. (2010-05-26) Main – Malaysia – Penang opens tender to restore Crag Hotel @ Wed May 26 2010. Themalaysianinsider.com. Retrieved on 2011-10-23.
- ^ July « Preservation Of Monuments Board. Saecomm.com. Retrieved on 2011-10-23.
- ^ Hotel Majapahit. Hotel Majapahit (1945-11-10). Retrieved on 2011-10-23.
[edit] External links
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