Wednesday Wanderings #9: Maadi, My Favourite Home
Every Wednesday, I share stories of my adventures—whether it's my time in Valencia, a destination I'll forever romanticise, or a book that completely captivated me. Expect tales of fleeting encounters with sharks in Colombia, dancing until dawn in Berlin, and everything in between.
A picture from 2 years ago flashed up on my phone this morning. It showed me in my little apartment in Maadi, Cairo. I am smiling, wearing colourful clothes and the morning sunlight streams across the wooden floors. I absolutely loved living there. At one end of my street there was a cluster of plant markets, the shop owners all knew me by name as I bought many plants, and on the other there was an incredible second-hand book store underneath a shack covered in tarpaulin. It was heaven.
Maadi is a district in the South of Cairo, on the right bank of the river Nile. It is known for its tree-lined streets, spacious villas, and a quieter, more relaxed atmosphere than the hustle and bustle of downtown Cairo. But it’s far from quiet. Each street has its own backstory and legend. Unlike most of Cairo, it’s pedestrian-friendly, and full of green. There is the street full of haunted giant old villas, the street full of an aggressive pack of street dogs everyone avoids, the street full of antique shops and the street I lived on, street 87, home to the French lycée, UNICEF offices, plant stalls, at least ten kiosks predominantly selling cigarettes and crisps, and my favourite street cat ever Nefertiti.
Ever since the first time I visited in Summer 2018, Maadi felt like home. I loved wandering the maze-like streets, getting lost. I loved hanging out until the early hours on friends’ rooftops and I loved the quiet mornings when no one was awake except the road sweepers. During that summer, I lived with a very cool film director who had adopted a cat, a baladi dog and a husky, who lived on the street next to my subsequent apartment in Spring 2023. I had been living in downtown Cairo and moving into Maadi felt like stepping into a new dimension full of happiness.
It’s also an extremely creative area. When I lived there last in 2023, every time I walked out of my home I had a new idea and would often scurry back to my desk to jot it down. I met artists, writers, actors, and musicians. Friends would happily share their ideas and collaborate in one of the area's many creative spaces, and someone would always be hosting a jam.
I’ve spoken a lot about the greenery, but the image of Maadi I’ll hold in my head forever is that of the bougainvillea. The paper thin dark pink flowers which litter the roads every morning and wind around the grandest of villas and humblest of tiny shacks. I crunched on them as I walked to Ratios for my morning coffee and collected fallen branches of flowers and put them in vases when I had friends over for dinner.
There are many places I remember fondly. One special place is Sparrow Café, a mystical neighbourhood cafe where everyone talks to each other and scores of street cats, dogs and even birds gather as the owner generously feeds them every single day. Also Osana, my yoga studio which is a villa in an enclosed garden, offering a mighty calm oasis in the Cairo urban jungle.
But most of all, I loved my friends there. Bumping into each other in the queue at “Drinkies” before it closes for yet another religious holiday, bopping around each other's houses and staying up late any night of the week, or sipping extremely strong coffee and chatting on Road 9. Stripped of Cairo’s extreme chaos, Maadi is a place where everyone has time to talk and slow down a little.
Fortunately, it is largely ignored by tourists and critics may say it is a privileged little area which isn’t a true representation of Cairo. That is not incorrect, but it’s much more lively and authentic than areas like Sheikh Zayed or New Cairo favoured by today’s Egyptian elite. I was lucky to call Maadi my home on several occasions, and I still dream of slow mornings picking up fresh flowers, leafing through old books, and meeting friends for coffee.
Love my writing? Hit the heart button or buy me a coffee