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

Hello, Cairo!

It's a busier weekend than usual in the capital, with gigs, expos, exhibitions and even special dinners littering the city – so let's dive in.

One of Thursday’s most talked about events is taking place at Fairmont Nile City, as the hotel welcomes Andrew Mitchell for a special night that will see the celebrity TV chef cook up a truffle-themed storm with a special set menu.

Elsewhere, Cairo’s newest event series, CACHÉ, returns to Downtown’s Zigzag, with French minimal electro producer, Ivan Smagghe, headlining a night that will see the men behind CACHÉ, Klady and Aly B, also take to the decks. Meanwhile, at Cairo Jazz Club, acoustic ace, Hassan Ramzy, kicks off the evening, before Crash Boom Bang take over. There’s live music over at El Genaina Theatre, too, as Afro-fusion band, Hawidro, perform.

Over in Maadi, progressive and deep house DJ, Man-O, returns to the Tap, while DJ Tamer Hegazy is the man charged with the music at Zamalek’s Riverside. On a very different note, the Madrasty School Expo kicks off a three day run at City Centre Maadi and Royal Maxim Palace Kempinski hosts another lavish buffet, with the Fisherman’s Hook.

Friday proceedings kick off bright and early with one of the stand-out events of the weekend. Mouled El Akeel is the latest food fiesta in Cairo, but this one has a twist. There’s more outdoorsy fun to be had over at Rehab City’s Family Park, where Fel Park and Cairo Jazz Club Agency have put together a special event.

Elsewhere, InterContinental Semiramis’ Night & Day hosts a special brunch with live music coming courtesy of the talented Adham Roshdy and the Wave Jazz Band, while things will be considerabely more rambunctious at Uptown Cairo, where Back 2 Basics hosts a huge line-up of local DJing talent with the Reunion.

Later in the evening, the Tap celebrates its one year anniversary with a tasty line-up of music, while Cairo Jazz Club welcomes Safi, Disco Masr and, headliners for the evening, Austrian duo, Restless Leg Syndrome.

Back in Zamalek, meanwhile, this weekend’s edition of Riverdeep welcomes back husband-wife duo, Vijay & Sofia, to Cairo at Riverside on a night that local DJ, Nader Tahawy, will also play. Over the river in Garden City, a big night of some of the more left-field music to be found in city is taking place, as Sam 'Doktoor' Shalabi, the Dwarfs of East Agouza and the Invisible Hands perform, while on the other side of Cairo, Wust El Balad take to the stage at El Geniana Theatre.

Saturday sees Fairmont Nile City debut new event, Saturday Jazz Brunch Party, with Ahmed Harfoush serenading hungry diners and there’s plenty of live music in the evening, too. Osama El Hady and Hawidro are performing at Cairo Jazz Club, Shady Ahmed ends the weekend on a soulful note at the Tap and one of the most unique performers in Cairo, Eslam El Sha’ary is live at 3elbt Alwan in Zamalek. Alternatively, you could give the whole singing thing a go yourself – or any other talents you might have – at another edition of Mashrou3 Al Mareekh, which returns to Darb 1718.

These are just a few of the events awaiting you across Egypt’s lively capital this weekend – check out the Cairo 360 events calendar for more.