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

Hello, Cairo!

It's been a unpredictable week weather-wise across Egypt's capital, but with many touting this weekend as the warmest few days we've had in months, it's come at a perfect time, with plenty to see and do.

Thursday sees Cairo Opera House’s production of Verdi’s classic opera, Rigoletto, move into night two of its four-night run, while comedian, Ali Qandil, leads a night of stand-up at El Sawy Culturewheel, where the Sakia Puppet Theatre hold their latest performance of the Abdel Halim Hafez Puppet Show.

On a rowdier note, parties and gigs are plentiful, starting at Cairo Jazz Club, which is set to kick off its weekend with a night dedicated to the more alternative side of the local music scene, as Disorder, Hawas and Maii & Zeid all perform.

Egyptian-Lebanes duo, Maii & Zeid, headline at Cairo Jazz Club on Thursday.

Elsewhere, this week’s House Sessions is taking place on Thursday rather than its usual Friday spot, with Nacelle welcoming Berlin-based DJs, Mira and Nico Stojan, as well as Cairo’s Aly Goede. Meanwhile, Downtown’s Zigzag hosts Aly B, who is apparently playing a mammoth 8-hour set, and  DJs Tony L. and Lyon provide the music at Gu Bar’s WKND Vol 1, while hip-hop and r&b are on the menu at Korba bar, the Garden, courtesy of DJ Mobbz and Tamer Auf returns to Maadi bar, the Tap.

On a different note altogether, the French Institute in Cairo’s French Film Week comes to a close with its last screenings.

Bridezillas-to-be will be up-and-at-them on Friday morning for the White Wedding Festival at Dusit Thani LakeView in New Cairo, where some of the biggest names in jewellery, fashion, catering and beyond, set-up shop to the background of an eclectic entertainment program.

Elsewhere, Eat & Barrel host local DJs, SHawky and Zalat, for the Nile-side Giza venue weekly day-party, Eat to the Beat, while Downtown bistro, Eish & Malh, welcomes Ibrahim El Haddad for its weekly Brunch & Live Music event.

Later on in the evening, Gu Bar continues its weekend with the help of DJ Nenio at WKND Vol 2 and Ramy DJunkie is the man in the DJ booth at Disco at the Temple, while Cairo Jazz Club has three of the top young DJ acts in Cairo, in Fairouz T., DJ Fuzzy & Ayman Nageeb and Special K.

In terms of live music, meanwhile, the Tap welcomes Beatles tribute band, Glass Onion, Garden City’s ROOM Art Space hosts a special gig by Egyptian/Portuguese/Russian music project, NAR, oud-playing duo, Dina & Ghassan, perform at Cairo Opera House and contemporary Oriental band, Gawy, take to the stage at El Sawy Culturewheel.

NAR bring their unque blend of traditional folk music to ROOM Art Space on Friday.

As usual, things are a little quieter on Saturday – expect for maybe at Gu Bar, who end the weekend with Hamdy Batshan at their increasingly popular kitschy Oriental-themed night, Heshek Beshek.

The rest of the day is dominated by live music, meanwhile, with El Dor El Awal performing at Cairo Jazz Club, REGGANG returning to Mohandiseen bar, UnderGround, and up-and-coming indie rock group, Karkadan, debuting at the Tap.

Elsewhere, the second of two big gig at ROOM Art Space sees the unique Maktoub take to the stage, while the dizzying dancers of Al Mawlaweys Al Masreya perform at El Sawy Culturewheel and the Cairo Symphony Orchestra return for their weekly concert at Cairo Opera House.

In the way of art, this week's recommendations comes in the form of Sahar Alamir’s Gathering & Scattering, showing at Ubuntu Art Gallery – check out the review here.

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