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

As the second week of Ramadan comes to a close, the number of
arts and cultural events popping up around Cairo has increased dramatically.
From government-sponsored festivals to a taste of Ramadan from around the
world, Cairo is chock-full of things to do after fetar. Concerts
dominate the scene with a number of musical genres performed throughout the
weekend, and the majority for free.

This Thursday, be sure to catch the concerts of the Upper
Egypt Choir at Amir Taz Palace, or Grammy-award-winning jazz musician Fathy
Salama at Beit El Harawi. Accomplished harpist Manal
Mohiel Din will entertain audiences at Wikalet El Ghouri, but if
you’re in the mood for something more traditional you can stop by Beit El
Suheimi to catch Baraweez
Band performing Oriental/Nubian music, or a night of Poetry
and Oud at Wekalet El Ghouri.

More and more puppet shows seem to be making
appearances lately, and if you haven’t seen one yet; head over to the Talaat
Harb Culture Centre to see the play Abou
Ali. Local musician Hend
Zaki will be playing at the Open Air Theatre of the Cairo Opera House and the very charismatic NubaNoor
will return to El Tanboura Hall for an evening of
traditional Nubian music. You can enjoy a concert of contemporary Egyptian music courtesy of Basata
Band at El Sawy Culturewheel, or catch Spanish
singer Ara
Musa Honra at El Genaina Theatre as part of the Ramadan Hayy program schedule.

If you thought Thursday was busy, the schedule doesn’t get
any less packed on Friday. Beit El Oud El Araby will perform classic Oriental music at Wikalet El
Ghouri while a slightly different variety of classical Arab music will be
performed by Qithara
at Amir Taz Palace.

Two new puppet-related events join the play Abou Ali, which will show all weekend long. Renowned artist Dr. Nabil Bahgat’s puppet theatre
production El
Aragoz we Khayal El Zel will be shown at Beit El Suheimi and the Talaat
Harb Culture Centre will show a unique photography exhibition entitled One
Shot Puppets. El Genaina has the privilege of hosting singer-songwriter
and actress Maryem
Saleh at 10LE per ticket. As part of a collaborative series between
embassies and the Cairo Opera House, the Uzbekistani Embassy will be
celebrating Ramadan with a number of cultural
performances in the Open Air Theatre. Fresh from the release of their new
album Matloub Za’eem, Cairokee
will perform at El Sawy Culturewheel.

Saturday evening
is probably the calmest this weekend, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty
to do. Nubian musician Khaled
Mounib will perform at Beit El Harawi and the Fawanees Festival continues with performances by the El
Ghouri Tannoura Dance Group at Wikalet El Ghouri, and a performance of Oriental
Takht at El Sawy Culturewheel. Salalem will also play live in El Sawy’s Wisdom Hall, while the Algerian
Embassy will host their Arab-Islamic night in the Open Air Theatre.

A
reading of Abdel Moneim El Sawy’s ‘Departure’, will take place at El
Sawy Culturewheel. If you feel like checking out an art exhibition, try The Egyptian Snapshot, an exhibition of various Egyptian artists at Amir Taz Palace.

Perhaps the highlights of the evening though are
two PS3 tournaments taking place in Maadi
and Designopolis.
Winners of the PES2011 challenge will be pitted against the winner of the Dubai
tournament in an online final.

We don’t expect anyone to have a spare moment between fetar
and sohour this weekend, not with all these amazing events taking place. Go
out, have fun, and bask in the cultural richness that is Cairo!