The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

Cairo shoppers, rejoice! As if we
didn’t have enough shopping centres and malls in Cairo, Mall of Arabia is now
open in Juhayna Square, 6th of October City, promising to be the
biggest shopping mall in Egypt and the second largest in the Middle East. Take
that, Citystars!

Spread out over 1million square metres with twelve entrances and a parking
capacity of 9000 cars, the mall is huge – and we mean huge! So far, only Phase 1
of the mall has opened, and that part alone was so large, we started
contemplating scooters, skateboards and other transportation means to get
around the area. Funnily enough, we spotted a few golf carts around the mall…

Owned by Saudi company Fawaz Al Hokair
Group, the mall will hold 900 brands and plans to open Phase 2 in 2012, which will include luxury brand shops and a VIP cinema, as well as a hotel, international gym chain Fitness First and a compound.

Phase 1 is not entirely completed yet, but it
will include a massive dancing fountain inside the court, greenery, a food
court as well as a cinema complex.

Cairo 360 took
the extensive trek out to Mall of Arabia and after a good calorie-burning walk
around the mall; we can report that the following venues are now open:

Dining Spots:
Gloria’s Jeans, Beano’s, Pascucci and Second Cup.

Shops: Spinney’s Hypermarket, Stradivarius, Monsoon, Ousho, Bershka, Massimo Dutti, Pull And Bear, Nine
West, Zara, My Diamond, Charmaine, Scarpa, Sapata, Jennyfer, Flower, Pumpkin
Patch, Spring, Sergeant Major, Quiz, Jolie Optics, Thirteen Scarves, Tulipe,
Tiffany, 2B Computers, Set El Koll, Al Nadil Pharmacy, Al Mowafaq, Nefertari,
Itnoj, Kakapo, Miss Whatever, Funky Fish, Viss Cotton, Isi, Tie Shop, BTM/Marie
Louis, Shick, Okaidi, Femini9, Maghrabi Optical and Vodafone.

Here are some of the venues set to
open in the near future:

Dining Spots will include Casper and
Gambini’s, Beirut-based restaurant Leila Restaurant, Mori Sushi, Ruby Tuesdays,
The Noodle House, La Wien and French boulangerie chain Paul.

Shops will include Salsa Life, Samsonite, The Pink Powder Room, Faces,
Cinnzeo, Mix And Match, Women’s Secret, More And More, Tata Tio, Miele,
Glitter, Shoe Room, Takbir, M. Hozayen, New Born La Cravate, Maximus, Cuff And
Collar, Mobaco Cottons, Seventy, Link Watches, Al Motahageba, Ulla Pöpken,
Concrete, Déjà Vu, Caprisa, Mazaya, Cache Cache, Sunglass Hut, Mango, Vero
Moda, Promod, Hush Puppies and BTC, in addition to a huge, three-storey furniture
mall, a sportswear floor with all major brands including Adidas and Puma, and
the first FIFA Store brand to open in the Middle East.

As Mall of
Arabia is brand new and most of the venues in Phase 1 are still in the process
of opening, we ask you to bear with us as we update this list and acquire the
venues’ listings and contact information.

While this
shopping mall is more reachable for residents of 6th of October and Sheikh Zayed, we’re sure that the promise of international brands and VIP cinemas
will have many shoppers travelling the extra miles to Mall of Arabia. Happy
Shopping!