To Sa7el or not to Sa7el

I’m probably not the best person to talk about this, because (rather embarrassingly) I’ve never been. Yup, it’s been 3 years since I came back to the Capital and I’ve never actually been to what seems to be a cornerstone of Cairo life. It’s not for my lack of trying. In fact, I’ve tried to go several times but something always comes up. I’ve either ended up heading off to discover Alexandria instead, revisiting my childhood Agamy, or rather unabashedly stopping over at a friend’s plush estate in King Mariout, only to spend a long weekend there without leaving the grounds. It also doesn’t help that the last 3 summers have been cut short prematurely by Ramadan, narrowing the window of opportunity for going, ergo my chances of actually making it there.

While this may seem unholy to the masses of Cairenes who head to the North Coast, it does put me in quite a unique position to enjoy something only a handful of people ever experience – a traffic-free Cairo. Most Cairenes dread the thought of spending a summer weekend in Cairo because the usual city haunts do turn into a bit of a ghost town. But if you find yourself a group of friends who weren’t able to make it through the Thursday crowds at the toll gate, you’re bound to have a different kind of weekend here in Cairo.

The pools in Cairo clear out, leaving you the whole place to you and your friends. No posers, no families, and no noisy kids in sight. Its also unlikely you’ll run into any tourists, as package holiday travelers tend to arrive and leave on Thursday’s. So even they spend the weekend heading to Cairo’s famous landmarks on arrival and leave the sun worshipping for later in the week. For another perk, you also no longer need a reservation anywhere. After spending the day in the scorching sun where your biggest decision is when to order that fruit cocktail, you can stroll up to any of the popular nightspots dotted around town, dressed pretty much any way you like and still get in. Even the most square jawed bouncers will let you past the door on a summer weekend. Because there’s unlikely to be anyone inside, you’ll be able to waltz right in. Most likely even the venue owners – who usually uphold the strict door policies – are sunning it up at Hacienda or Diplo.

The nicest thing about spending the weekend in Cairo during Sahel season must of course be the empty streets. Traffic literally drops by about 70%. That’s not to say that 10 million residents head to the North Coast on the weekend - that can’t be true - but it’s usually so hot, that the folks who do stay in town, rarely venture out during the day. This means that if you’re not up for the pool you’re free to zip around town and do exactly what you want without the big traffic jams and insane driving. You could have breakfast at Aqua E Luce at the Fairmont Towers in Heliopolis, then head to Korba for a bit of tech shopping at Compu Me (its their best Cairo branch by far), before driving across town to have a perfect coffee in Café Greco in Maadi. The best thing is, you can probably get all this done by 1 o’clock! So you still have the rest of the day to head to the gym, run those errands you keep putting off or do anything else that strikes your fancy (shameless plug: here’s our weekend guide to Cairo).

Still, I could be enjoying a fruit cocktail on the fabulous white beaches I hear they have at Hacienda.

The Case for a Cairo Guide

If you’ve ever been to Cairo, then one word that you probably use to describe your experience is chaos. That’s not to say it’s the only thing that comes to mind; there is of course Cairo’s rich ancient history, amazing cultural landmarks, its great central location as a launch pad for pharaonic, desert and seaside excursions across Egypt, but chaos is quite high up there on the proverbial list. The noise, the sheer amount of people, the cars and crazy-Tetris-style driving (come and you will understand) could leave you begging for your happy place when all these things assault your senses relentlessly at the same time. You might even look around in wonder at how the city soldiers on and how anyone ever gets anything done.

The difference between someone who enjoys Cairo and someone who doesn’t is whether they realize that it’s this very chaos that gives Cairo its charm. Without the madness, Cairo just wouldn’t be mad enough to enjoy. It would be an aging city with too much pollution and very little soul. A good friend of mine jokingly summed it up to me by saying: ‘Egypt is seven thousand years old. And it shows.’ And while some might think that this is a jab at how horrible things may be, I take a lot of pride in repeating it because while the statement is somewhat true; it’s the madness that is largely responsible for the endless entertainment that you’re bound to experience here.

I often get asked what spurred Media Republic to create a Cairo guide - Cairo 360 - as our first online publication. The answer is simple: there is little to no online information about Cairo that is up-to-date, relevant and engaging to Cairene audiences. There’s a wealth of information from international sites about Egypt as a tourist destination, but when you live in Cairo, or are looking to stay for more than a two-week package holiday, there is very little credible local information. This is shocking; considering how much there is to do in the city.

If you’ve been to Cairo, then you know how hard it is to traverse the city without prior knowledge of where to go and what to see. You may spend hours trying to reach a venue only to be disappointed, or worse, to find that it’s closed. So what we aim to do is provide a guide from seasoned veterans of the city on how to fill your time, no matter what it is you may be interested in. We publish honest and unbiased reviews of venues, which not blatantly paid for and read like advertorials. We delve in the smattering of great Cairo’s restaurants and cafés dotted across the city; check out the varied options for Cairo’s multifaceted nightlife; scour the arts and culture events to recommend what to see and when; and even head to the best health clubs and beauty centres around town (tough job) to see what’s worth going to and what to miss.

We don’t for one second feel that we can help you live an organized lifestyle– we don’t believe in miracles– but we do hope that as we grow, and uncover more of the city that we make it easier for you to traverse the chaos in search of the countless gems on offer; so many, in fact, that we have trouble deciding what to write about first.