I thought my understanding of geography was perfect. My map tells me that there's a line dividing Sudan from Ethiopia, which then splits as it nears the Red Sea to form Eritrea. On my map, the transitions are sensible, immediate, logical. Point (...)
Until recently, breakfast enthusiasts from Zamalek were forced to travel off-island to fulfill their morning cravings. Perhaps as a result of the significant nocturnal distractions available on the island, morning diner-style sustenance was usually (...)
Pizza is hardly unusual fare in Cairo. Countless cooks, most without a hint of Italian training, purport to serve up some variety of this beloved dish. Many pizzas are edible; some are not. Options are surprisingly limited at the upper end of the (...)
Reviewing Sequoia, a bastion of Zamalek's dining scene, presents a problem. It has been endlessly reviewed in the past, in some cases by the world's most talented writers. As members of the international press establishment struggle with their (...)
America is a well-discovered destination for a lot of Egyptians. Many have friends and family who have emigrated there, making them feel comfortable in the country. Others appreciate EgyptAir's superb direct flights to New York or rave about the (...)
Zamalek's most important north-south traffic axis, which runs down the middle of the island, undergoes at least two changes of name on its way. It begins as Hassan Sabry Street near the police station behind the Gezira Club, and continues so-named (...)
Sudan may have now broken into South Sudan and Sudan but in Cairo, among the Sudanese here, you'd never believe that such tensions exist - at least within the peaceful walls of Matam Al-Khartoum.
At Matam Al-Khartoum, the aptly named Sudanese (...)
The gentrification of 26th of July St. in Zamalek rolls on. Though it still maintains its character, straddling Cairo's socialist past with its mercantile future, new places continuously arrive, most of which cater to the higher end of Cairo's (...)
This column is continuously on the lookout for dining options outside of Cairo's urban core. While much of Cairo's new housing sprouts up far beyond the traditional city center, it seems that the arrival of restaurants, or for that matter any (...)
This restaurant may have no name - at least no name recognizable to anyone restricted to Arabic or English - and it has precious few non-Chinese patrons. On the evening we went, we were the only non-Uighur diners. Unless you happen to speak Uighur (...)
My daughter is a budding geologist. She loves rocks. We have a delightful book that we always take with us as we travel around Egypt, A Traveler's Guide to The Geology of Egypt, published by AUC, and I do my best to tell her dramatic stories of the (...)
There is considerable concern about the state of the economy in Egypt. The revolution, some say, is bad for business. Tycoons have been locked up. Properties have been seized. Assets have been frozen. If you examine one of the most dynamic sectors (...)
Food critics in Cairo spend a lot of time in the middle of the road. It's not often that we get to sample truly exemplary tastes. Whereas food critics in Beirut or Istanbul may find themselves spending much of their time distinguishing the (...)
A friend recently told me an Egypt traffic horror story about a two mile back-up at a checkpoint, where traffic had simply stopped. The two-lane road quickly became four if not five lanes, and the heat and tempers were rising.
Quickly, cars that (...)
The various Kings of Egypt may be a distant memory, but Cairo's King of Shrimps is still alive and well. My family and I stumbled upon this delightful restaurant (its name really is the King of Shrimps, written in both English and Arabic as Malek El (...)
This column is not ordinarily prone to hyperbole. It rarely finds the best, worst or most extraordinary of anything. Rather, I spend a lot of time tasting the pretty good, adequate or mildly disappointing. Therefore, when I meet extraordinary, I (...)
I'm a believer in value. Value is a difficult concept to define, but it basically means that the worth of something purchased should equal or exceed the price paid. Value has nothing to do with cost; good value can come expensive or cheap. I'd (...)
Dining in Cairo has taken on a new sense of urgency in the revolutionary age. In the spirit of abiding by the curfew, last orders at many of Cairo's dining establishments until recently were not much later than 10:30. This was a bit of a shock to (...)
Living in Cairo is full of ups and downs. On the one hand, there is incomparable history and culture, and plenty of friendly neighbors--on the other, there is chaos, noise, dirt and pollution. It's a wonderful town in which to live; at the same (...)
Sand, sun and sea. As we are endlessly alliteratively reminded, Egypt has these in ample supply. But what about the fourth “S”, snow? This may be a bit harder to believe. But, if you're willing to make the trek over to Sinai, you might just be lucky (...)
The restaurants reviewed in this column tend to be new, funky, innovative, or have some other characteristic that would distinguish them for a younger, more urban, audience.
Cairo, of course, is a layered, complex city, with something for everyone. (...)
In terms of the urbanization of Cairo, and the installation of concrete on agricultural land around the city, the trends are in only one direction. Everywhere, like in Mansoureya, farm land is being paved over and shabby high-rise blocks are rising (...)
Cairo's history has always been synonymous with gardens and greenery. Strategically located at the junction of the Nile Valley and the beginning of the Delta, the desert city was historically blessed with ample green spaces, fertile soil and (...)
A unique, funky, and (literally) underground restaurant with an eclectic clientele replaced by a clean-cut and formulaic chain with an American twist …does this sound like another tragedy of contemporary urbanization? Funky and local losing out to (...)
Finding a travel destination suitable for the entire family can be a challenge. For example, Tampa, Florida, home to Disney World and the Epcot Center, may be great for kids; St. Petersburg, Russia, home to the Hermitage and glorious Romanov (...)