Cairo Downtown
In Egypt, the central business district is called Wust al-Balad, which means “the heart of the nation” in a poetic way. Certainly, the name of this busy, crowded part of Cairo is a good way to describe it. This area, which includes Midan Talaat Harb and Midan Tahrir, is not only the geographical center of Cairo, but also transportation, business, and cultural hub.
In the 1880s, Khedive Ismail built downtown Cairo as part of a huge plan to modernize Cairo and other Egyptian cities. This plan also included building the Egyptian Museum. The Khedive wanted to make the city into something like a European metropolis. To do this, he hired European architects to build a whole new part of the city with wide boulevards and buildings that look like they were built around the same time in Paris. If you can deal with how busy Downtown is most of the time, it is a fascinating place to walk around because it is full of faded reminders of Cairo’s glory a century ago.
On the skyline of Downtown, there are a number of well-known landmarks and a number of lesser-known spots that are still worth seeing because of their historical significance to the cosmopolitan culture that thrived here in the middle of the 20th century.
Highlights:
It is not as well-known as the Egyptian Museum of Islamic Art, which is between Downtown and Old Cairo and has been closed for more than ten years for repairs. Despite this, the museum has a well-organized collection of art and architecture from the time after Islam came to Egypt (641 AD).
You can’t go to Cairo without going to the Egyptian Museum. It has a lot of things from Ancient Egypt as well as from the Greco-Roman period, which was not that long ago. Every tourist who comes to Cairo should go to the Egyptian Museum. It’s in the neighborhood of Tahrir Square.
Stops that are worth seeing, as well as food and drink:
Midan Falaky is east of Midan Tahrir and south of Midan Talaat Harb. The area around Midan Falaky is full of activity, with lots of busy coffee shops and old buildings. This is a great place to sit in a café and watch the busy streets of Cairo go by. Smoke some shisha and play some backgammon (tabula in Arabic). At Café Horreya in Midan Falaky, you can relax with a nice beer or a cup of coffee. Even at night, there are a lot of people here.
Borsa is a pedestrian area a few blocks northeast of Midan Talaat Harb between Kasr Al Nil Street and Midan Talaat Harb. It has a number of outdoor cafes. Borsa is very popular among young Egyptians and can be found between Kasr Al Nil Street and Midan Talaat Harb. Another great place to hang out outside and watch and listen to Cairo’s nightlife, day or night.
Townhouse Gallery and Theater is a lively art gallery and performance space that often shows movies and has art shows and performances. It is off of Mahmoud Bassiouni Street, which goes northwest from Midan Talaat Harb and can be reached by car. You can get to the website by clicking here.
Café Riche was a restaurant in Cairo that was popular with the city’s intellectual and literary elite during the middle of the 20th century. It is now a café on Talaat Harb Street, right before you get to the Midan. They serve beer and great food, but the building still has its original feel. Here, you can read about the game.
Café Horreya is a rare café that sells beer. It is also a popular spot for nightlife in Downtown Cairo, where people from all over Egypt and the world go. Even though it’s not very clean and can get very loud and smokey, it’s still a common part of nightlife in Downtown Cairo. It can be found in the Midan Falaky area.
On Talaat Harb Street, Felfela is a restaurant that serves delicious Egyptian food. It also has a fast-food area where you can get a delicious sandwich quickly. Here, you can read about the game.
