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

Hello Cairo!

Following the Easter and Sham El Nessim holidays, this week was always going to be a bit of a struggle. But in true Cairo fashion, the city has come back with a bang, providing the perfect holiday hangover cure.

Thursday kicks off with a bang at Cairo Jazz Club, where psychedelic rock group, the Invisible Hands, perform, while more live music comes courtesy of Sarah Essam who will perform at Jazz Mate in Zamalek. Elsewhere, Eslam El Sha’ary brings central Asia to Cairo with a performance of traditional ‘eshq’ chants at Sufi and El Dammah Theatre welcomes folk group, El Tanboura.

Cairo’s bars are going all out this weekend, and tonight, Alchemy launches the debut edition of Margarita Fiesta. Meanwhile, DJ Feedo is back at Otium for R&B Night and DJ Migo is at O Bar for another edition of House Arrest, while Roof Bar welcomes DJ Simon for a night of fist-pumping house music.

In Maadi, St John’s Church launches the 2013 Caravan Festival. Aiming to bridge the Muslim and Copt communities in Egypt, the festival has some weird and wonderful surprises in store.

Tonight also sees a number of new exhibitions open to Cairo’s art lovers, including Doa Aly’s ‘Desire, Deceit & Difficult Deliveries’ at Townhouse Gallery.

Friday starts early – at 6AM to be precise – with the biggest event of the weekend, Cairo’s Half Marathon, which will be invading the streets of Heliopolis.

Elsewhere, the Four Seasons Nile Plaza’s Graffiti gears up for another Rock ‘n’ Roll Brunch, while perennial open-mic event, Mashrou3 Al Mareekh returns to Darb 1718.

The day’s live music highlight comes at El Sawy Culturewheel, where Cairokee strut their stuff. Meanwhile, DJ Feedo makes a second appearance this weekend at O Bar for another R&B Night, while Amici Heliopolis does its best impression of a Beirut nightclub with Lebanese Friday Nights.

It’s a busy day for Graffiti, too; after the brunch-mess is cleaned up, the eclectic nightclub has only a few hours to prepare for the musical stylings of DJ Roro. Speaking of which, Cairo Jazz Club boasts an impressive line-up, as Cairo’s premier female DJ, Mayounah, joins cheeky DJ duo, Misty and Hafez for a night of big bass and heavy beats. Never one to be left out of the fun, Tamarai hosts ‘all-white’ party, Fallen Angels, while 100Copies Music Space hosts performances by electronic band, Cellar Door, and solo artist, Gast.

Amici Heliopolis will help you ease into Saturday with another Breakfast (And Booze), before transforming into a Grecian paradise for Greek Night. Elsewhere on Cairo’s non-stop nightlife scene, Deals 2 welcomes one and all for Karaoke Night and DJs, Onsy and Nataly, provide the entertainment at Graffiti, while Cairo Jazz Club serves up a night of live music, with local bands, Uss w Laz2, City Band and Malaleem, all performing.

The Caravan Festival continues at St John’s Church with a screening of Egyptian film, ‘Winter of Discontent’ and an appearance from star actor, Amr Waked.

There are more exhibition openings tonight, with Al Masar Gallery opening its doors for Ahmed Farid’s ‘Urban Diversity’ and Riham El Sadany’s ‘Blue Passion’ debuting at Cala Art Gallery.

That’s not the only new art in Cairo; this last week has seen several noteworthy exhibitions launching, including Shaimaa Sobhy’s ‘Hybrid’ at Gallery Misr and Hala Elkoussy’s ‘Journey Around My Living Room’ at Mashrabia Gallery.

This is just a sneak-peek of the events that wait you – check out the Cairo 360 events calendar for more.

Have a great weekend!