Maadi hotel zone
On the banks of the Nile 12km south of the city, Maadi has the Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt, Cairo Rugby Club, the Egyptian Geological Museum and, in a country which doesn't yet know what to do with alcohol, a few pubs. It's a well-to-do expat area with tourist spots (you can get haram bacon and eggs) and residences with green lawns and trees.
These are mostly hotels, as we're on the banks of the Nile - the view on the other side, where the pyramids can be seen in the distance. But look anywhere in Cairo and there's a sea of 8- or 15- storey apartment blocks which look unfinished due to the Egyptian 'custom' of allowing the next generation to build on top. Since the tax law changes when a building is completed, most are never 'finished' and have some sort of foundations sticking out of the top.
Maadi hotel zone
On the banks of the Nile 12km south of the city, Maadi has the Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt, Cairo Rugby Club, the Egyptian Geological Museum and, in a country which doesn't yet know what to do with alcohol, a few pubs. It's a well-to-do expat area with tourist spots (you can get haram bacon and eggs) and residences with green lawns and trees.
These are mostly hotels, as we're on the banks of the Nile - the view on the other side, where the pyramids can be seen in the distance. But look anywhere in Cairo and there's a sea of 8- or 15- storey apartment blocks which look unfinished due to the Egyptian 'custom' of allowing the next generation to build on top. Since the tax law changes when a building is completed, most are never 'finished' and have some sort of foundations sticking out of the top.