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

As we approach the end of the weekend in Cairo, and the burgeoning doom of returning to work engulfs any remnants of your soul, it’s easy to forget that Egypt’s capital is a city that has much to offer; there are restaurants to overpay at, exhibitions to pretend to understand and cafes to waist the day away in. Here are five things to help things tick over till Thursday night.

Download Clorets Socializer

Not since Angry Birds introduced the ‘Pharaoh Bird’ has an app touched the lives of so many Cairenes. Chewing gum architect Clorets has made a game of eating, drinking and cinema-going in the capital, giving users the chance to collect ‘SPs’ – or Socializer Points. Said points can then be traded in for snacks and drinks – it’s easy. But wait, there’s more! If you can resist blowing your hard-earned points on popcorn, smoothies and donuts, the brave Cairene with the most points at the end wins a special trip for him/her and five friends, the location of which is a highly-guarded secret.

Watch Jurassic Park 3D

The iconic dinosaur film has returned to cinema screens twenty years after it made palaeontology cool. Granted, the 3D-isation of old films is somewhat of a cheap Hollywood ploy, but Jurassic Park 3D benefits from the treatment like you wouldn’t believe. The combination of that distinct 90s film grain and screen-bursting action is a peculiar recipe that makes it seem all the more ‘real’. But apart from that, one should never pass up the opportunity to watch a young Jeff Goldblum.

Enjoy Fine-Dining For Less

In the biggest collaboration since David Bowie and Queen teamed up to produce Under Pressure, which was taken to new heights by Vanilla Ice’s Ice Ice Baby, Cairo 360 and Visa have come together to give Egypt’s Visa card holders some pretty nifty discounts at over seventy of the best restaurants in the country. All you have to do is pay using your Visa card. In addition, a rotating roster of the participating restaurants will have specially assigned ‘Visa Hot Tables’. If you are lucky enough to sit at one of these randomly assigned tables and pay with your Visa Card, you’ll get the meal for free. If you’re a Mastercard holder, better luck next time.

Go to Aqua Zumba at Arabella Country Club

Conjuring up images of that iconic photo of Muhamed Ali shadow boxing in the depths of a swimming pool, Cairo’s health and fitness consciousness has welcomed another new trend in in-water Zumba. Combining elements of dance and martial arts, the Colombian-born fitness craze already stands as an established and popular pursuit among Cairo’s more embracing fitness fanatics. This aqua version, however, may be the perfect answer to the ‘it’s-too-hot-to-exercise’ conundrum of summer in Egypt. Arabella Country Club hosts classes every Sunday, Tuesday & Friday.

Check out El-Fit Fitness Festival Volume Two

Speaking of health and fitness, the El-Fit Fitness Festival is making a roaring comeback, just a few months after the success of its inaugural edition. This time, the festivities will be at the Clubhouse in New Cairo and organisers are taking things up a few notches. Let’s just hope it doesn’t turn into an episode of The Biggest Loser. Look out for more on the El-Fit Fitness Festival on Cairo 360 very soon; we’re off to do jumping jacks and touch our toes without bending our knees.

Have a conctructive week, Cairo!