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.
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