Issue 12: Cairo Microcosms

Neighborhoods I went to this week, rated

Tahrir: 4/5 Stars

My work took me to Tahrir Sqaure this week, in the heart of downtown Cairo. This is the legendary square where the Arab Spring protests took place in Egypt, ultimately leading to the overthrow of the government. AUC has a campus in Tahrir, which is actually a converted palace, and I got to travel there to interview a migration professor.

After the interview, I took advantage of the location and visited the Egyptian Museum (not to be confused with the Grand Egyptian Museum). This bubblegum pink building is crumbling in on itself; its remaining important collection (the King Tut exhibit) was recently moved to GEM, so now it’s falling into disrepair. What remains is essentially all the artifacts too old or broken for the GEM to want them. The vibe? Insane. The expereince? 10/10

Zamalek: 5/5 Stars

This island in the Nile is the perfect escape from the rush of the city. I spent some time wandering between coffee shops, shopping in bookstores, visiting craft shops, and enjoying a nice rooftop bar. It’s one of two walkable neighborhoods in Cairo, and that alone gives it my love.

Heliopolis: 3/5 Stars

Or Mesr Gadida, as it’s known in Arabic, is a hub of middle-class Egyptian life. It was once a center for wealthy Egyptians, as evidenced by the Presidential Palace in the middle of the neighborhood, but now serves as more of a commercial hub, as the wealthy have moved further out into the burbs. I enjoyed some sugar cane juice, a walk along the streets, and dinner in a bougie cafe.

Mediniti: 1/5 Stars

I had a brief stop in Mediniti, said suburb that all the rich are moving into. It reminded me of an outdoor shopping mall, and was an hour and a half outside the heart of Cairo. No pictures were taken because there was nothing notable to see…

Maadi: 4/5 Stars

Maadi is the second walkable neighborhood in Cairo, also flush with wealth expats, but a little south of downtown. I attended a party in the garden of a villa. It was very cool.

New Cairo: 2/5 Stars

Of course, good old New Cairo. Home, if you will. It is not my favorite place in the world, rich with shopping malls and patchy sand. What was once Sahara has been built into compounds and unoccupied developments. But living here motivates me to go out and explore other places, and what’s more priceless than that?

Song of the Week:

1. Law Kol El-Nas by Do3soqua

Read of the Week:

1. Intermezzo by Sally Rooney (4 stars)

Food of the Week:

This effervescent mango that was served at the CEDEJ Khartoum conference lunch (this was a conference I attended on Sudanese migration to Cairo. Keeping the migration studies alive!)

Friend Shout-out:

Friend shout-out goes to Dennis and Nicole, who took the time to get dinner with me during their busy trip to Cairo!! Finally got to try Khoushary Abou Tarek, a Cairo institution :)