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

Hello Cairo!

If the weather has got you down this week;
never fear, the weekend is here! With live music, several Nile-side parties and
much more, this is shaping up to be another great weekend in Cairo.

The unstoppable Salalem are back at After
Eight for their weekly Thursday gig, while the boys and gals of the Riff Band have
a busy night ahead of them. Celebrating their nine year anniversary, the group
will first perform at El Sawy Culturewheel, before moving on to a huge celebratory
gig at Cairo Jazz Club.

It might be getting cold and windy by the
Nile, but that hasn’t stopped Cairo Expats from putting on another yacht party
aboard the SS Solitaire. They might well pass by the Trianon Boat in Giza on
their travels, where Yasso Lounge will celebrate its official opening with DJ
Samba.

Alongside the Garden City corniche, Club
180 on the Nile Holding boat will host another of its popular Ladies Night,
where DJ Suga and Ronal will be providing non-stop r&b and hip-hop tunes.

Over by the scenic Al Azhar Park, Egyptian
musician Mustafa Rizk will perform his unoique blend of jazz and Nubian music
at El Genaina Theatre, and will be joined by Iraqi oud player Khayam Allami.

Today is the last day you’ll be able to
catch Greek artist Yorgos Papageorgiou’s exhibition at Downtown’s Mashrabia
Gallery, while today is also the beginning of something we’ve been very excited
about. Yes, it’s time for El Sawy Culturewheel’s annual Chocofest! If you can
tolerate the hyperactive children, you should definitely take a steal a quick look
at the chocolate market.

Friday always presents us with the dilemma of
where to go and what to, and this week is no exception. Cairo Jazz Club welcomes
DJ Masters at Funk to the decks, while Buddha Bar host a night of music with DJ
Khaled Hussein and songstress Hala. Alternatively, you can head down to Purple
where DJ Feedo will bring nothing but pure r&b hits.

We tell you this on the assumption that you
won’t have already headed to Ain Sokhna for the Stella Di Mare’s Got Talent
finale. We wouldn’t blame you, especially with the Neobyrd and DJ Ramy leading
the huge after party.

There’s still plenty to keep you busy hear
though, particularly for shopaholics. The Mazeej Festive Bazaar at Seasons
Clubhouse will present attendees with some of the latest and freshest bags,
accessories, kid’s toys, home textiles, jewellery, furniture and clothing.

Friday will be the last day of Emad Ibrahim’s
exhibition at the Kempinski Nile’s Chocolate Lounge, as well as the last night
of this round of the Tahrir Monolgues performances at Rawabet Theatre.

Saturday will see Sahara bring their
rai-enthused Egyptian music to the Cairo Jazz Club stage, while Egyptian band
Nagham Masry will celebrate the end of the summer season at El Genaina theatre.

Tonight will also see the penultimate night
of this year’s Arabic Music Festival & Conference at Cairo Opera House
continue with performances from Egyptian singers Saad Mohamed Hassan and Khaled
Selim, as well as Moroccan singer Kareema El Saqly.

If you have the will to enter El Sawy Culturewheel without
gorging at the Chocofest; Alexandrian band Massar Egbari are putting on two performances,
starting from 6PM.

If you’re an early riser, the Rainbow Colour
Festival returns with a day full of colourful, crazy fun and a performance by
Cairokee at Nile Country Club.  Elsewhere,
Cairo Opera House continues its ‘The Met: Live in HD’ program with a screening
of ‘Satyagrah’ from the Met in New York.

If you’re looking to take in some art this
weekend, a unique calligraphy exhibition at Cairo Opera House is a sound
choice, as is ‘Momentum’; a photography exhibition at Safar Khan Gallery that takes a darker look at
the revolution.

There you go, enjoy!