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

Hello, Cairo!

How’s everyone holding up? Hungry? Drained? Cranky? Welcome to Ramadan in Cairo! With the first weekend of the Holy Month all but here, one might wonder what there is to do if anything at all across the capital. While nightlife has taken a sabbatical and many cultural venues yet to fully launch into their Ramadan schedules, there’s still plenty to keep you busy and entertained.

Thursday sees enduring Oriental pop-rockers, Salalem, kick off the weekend at the Tap East’s special Ramadan kheima, El 7anafeya, while Nile-side Giza venue, Eat & Barrel welcomes Mahmoud El Leithy for a festive night of music.

Elsewhere, Maadi’s Osana Wellness Center kicks off a weekly Yoga & Iftar Series, while Mawlay Ensemble bring their uniuque combination of Sufi music, zikr and mawlaweya to the stage at El Sawy Culturewheel, while the Abdel Halim Nowera Ensemble perform at El Gomhouria Theatre in Downtown Cairo.

For more Ramadan fun, there’s plenty of tents to start your weekend at, with some of the highlight ones being Wahawi Ramadan Lounge aboard Le Pacha 1901 in Zamalek, the longstanding Si Omar at Fairmont Heliopolis, as well as the tent that started it all, Ramadana, which this year takes place at Burgundy in New Cairo.

Eat & Barrel continues a busy weekend on Friday with the a live performance by Met2al, while Riverside’s own version of a kheima has its grand opening, with Abdel Basset Hamouda headlining the night’s entertainment.

Over in Sheikh Zayed, meanwhile, the grand opening of Uptown Cairo is set to welcome Alexandrian band, Massar Egbari, for a special performance at the grand opening of Lanterns, while Fel Terrace at Nineteen Twenty Five at the Nile City Towers opens its doors – or tent flaps, so to speak.

Away from the hustle and bustle of tents, Garden City’s ROOM Art Space welcomes Sheikh Zain Mahmoud for a night of spiritual Sufi chanting, while in the heart of Old Cairo, Amir Taz palace hosts a performance of theatrical piece, About Lovers, which is based on Ibn Hazem the Andalusian's book, The Dove's Collar.

Staying in Old Cairo for Saturday, the dizzying dancers of the El Ghouri Tannoura Dance Group perform at Wikalet El Ghouri, while the nearby Beit El Suheimi hosts renowned playwright and director Dr. Nabil Bahgat's puppet theatre production, El Aragoz we Khayal El Zel (The Clown and the Shadow).

Saturday also sees more live entertainment atUptown Cairo's Lanterns with singer-siongwriter and guitarist, Abou, set to take to the stage, while the Cairo Symphony Orchestra perform at Cairo Opera House.

One of the highlight music events of the weekend comes courtesy of a pre-Mawaweel collaboration between the festival and Darb 1718’s Mazzika X El Sat7 gigs, with Ahmed Omar bringing his unique Afro-infused sound to the stage on a day that will also see Dar 1718 kicks off a special photography initative with Karim El Haywan.

These are just a few of the options across Cairo this weekend – check out the Cairo 360 events calendar for more!