One area of Cairo that is teeming with expats is a suburb called Maadi -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maadi
It was laid out in about 1905 and due to it's proximity to the Nile and the relatively green areas originally planned it became popular with foreigners, plus it was in those days a short car/horse ride in to the city centre. Now it can take an hour or more.
But, there is still the rail line and it forms part of the Cairo metro system (which has only two lines so far). Cost of a ticket to town is about 1.25LE (Egyptian pounds - 1USD = 5.5LE, 1Euro = 7.4LE) with a separate carriage for women.
So, we start at the metro station (even though I drove there) -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maadi
It was laid out in about 1905 and due to it's proximity to the Nile and the relatively green areas originally planned it became popular with foreigners, plus it was in those days a short car/horse ride in to the city centre. Now it can take an hour or more.
But, there is still the rail line and it forms part of the Cairo metro system (which has only two lines so far). Cost of a ticket to town is about 1.25LE (Egyptian pounds - 1USD = 5.5LE, 1Euro = 7.4LE) with a separate carriage for women.
So, we start at the metro station (even though I drove there) -
Check we have the right road -
And start to walk.
The reason I chose this street is because it is the traditional shopping street in Maadi and it has a bookshop I visit from time to time (like today).
There are a mix of shops and residences and I'll let the photos speak for themselves -
The reason I chose this street is because it is the traditional shopping street in Maadi and it has a bookshop I visit from time to time (like today).
There are a mix of shops and residences and I'll let the photos speak for themselves -
Arrive at my book shop -
http://www.bookspotonline.com/middle.php?file=screen&screenid=1
http://www.bookspotonline.com/middle.php?file=screen&screenid=1
Then continue here and there, up and down in no particular order -
The wall these are on belongs to a fairly random house, there is no connection between the painting and the house. I thought initially it was a school or something, but no. The painting was done just to brighten the street up a bit by a youth group -
The wall these are on belongs to a fairly random house, there is no connection between the painting and the house. I thought initially it was a school or something, but no. The painting was done just to brighten the street up a bit by a youth group -
And on -
Pinned on the trees are adverts for apartments -
So, we've reached the end of this section of the street and lugging our carrier bag of books, we return to the car and head home -