A popular downtown club that hosts live music and DJs every night, has a very decent drink and bar menu and good atmosphere. The website is great for directions (!) and listings. A top venue that hosts live music nearly every night.
It’s worth saying that, despite the name of the club, the music on offer is not all jazz!

www.cairojazzclub.com/
197, 26th July St.Agouza
+202 3345 9939
Google map: bit.ly/urs2Qj

What to tell the taxi?
197, 26th July St. Sphinx square

* Alip is our Been there local for Cairo. Her page is here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/cairo-local-alice-allsop.jsp and you can follow her tips directly here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/alip

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The church of Saint Samaan is beautiful and any visit to it will be a moving one. The huge cave that holds the church has been carved out of the Moqattam hills that overlook Cairo on the eastern edge of the city.
Moqattam is home to a large Coptic Christian community who collect the city’s rubbish and sort it by hand for recycling. There are various charity projects running in the area to help this marginalised community make a fair living. The Association for the Protection of the Environment (APE) is one of them, and they can organise visits into the area to see the church and their workshops where they produce recycled paper and cloth goods.

www.garbagedreams.com/
www.ape.org.eg/
cavechurch.com/home/index.asp

* Alip is our Been there local for Cairo. Her page is here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/cairo-local-alice-allsop.jsp and you can follow her tips directly here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/alip

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Egypt may not be known for its beer, but if you visit Egypt you may want to try a local Stella (not Artois) during the course of your stay. If you want to drink it where the locals drink, then you’ll need to find a ‘baladi’ bar (‘baladi’ roughly translating as ‘local’ in Egyptian). Some of these bars are real ‘spit and sawdust’ places, but they’ll all offer you a beer and a glimpse into drinking beyond your hotel bar. The Stella Baladi Map will help you find your way around.

www.stella1ofus.com/category/stella-nightlife/baladi-cairo-bar-map/

* Alip is our Been there local for Cairo. Her page is here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/cairo-local-alice-allsop.jsp and you can follow her tips directly here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/alip

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There are so many restaurants in Cairo with international influences that you could easily visit for a week and not sample any traditional Egyptian food, but you’d really be missing out.
If you are out and about exploring in Cairo and want a quick, cheap and filling meal then Egyptian fast food is the way to go.
Cheap, simple dishes that are popular are ‘koshary’ (with its layers of rice, macaroni, pasta and lentils this is a carb-overload, but very filling and served with a little tomato sauce and with lemon and spicey sauce on the side) and ‘shawerma’ (marinated kebab meat served in a wrap or roll). You should also try falafel (‘tameya’), stuffed vegetables (‘mashi’) and 'fuul' (fava beans) which are often served in round flat bread ('aish baladi').
Arzak and Gad are both chains of Egyptian fast food restaurants. There are branches of both all over Cairo and they serve Egyptian fast food (and 'traditional' fast food of burgers and fries if you're feeling less adventurous).
Most restaurants will have a counter where you place your order, pay and are given a receipt. Take this receipt over to the serving counter to pick up your food. Some branches will also have a second 'back' room with table service, AC and bathrooms.

www.arzakegypt.com/home.asp
Maadi Grand Mall, 12 Road 257, Maadi, Cairo, Egypt
+20 2 5195282
Google map: bit.ly/v7Qcdo

Gad restaurants: bit.ly/ttEkNY

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