I was wondering if anyone could offer insight into what Maadi, Cairo is like? I have been told by various people here that it is a nice area of Cairo to live in and that if I wanted to stay there for a month (in Cairo) that it might be a good place to try to find a place to rent. Any input is appreciated. Thanks very much!
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maadi is the best place in cairo because my habibi lives there seriously, it is a nice area... a lot of green... nice people...close to the center, not expensive like some other areas, but still clean...an open place, many foreigners live there, you can feel quite free, nobody is watching you because you are a foreigner, as there are many foreigners around!! there are very nice places to go out also...if i move to cairo, i will definately choose maadi!!! Posts: 271 | From: germany | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
Maadi is the area that expats with children tend to choose to live in because of the proximity to the better schools for foreigners.
It is more (MUCH MORE) expensive than other neighborhoods, especially for short term rentals, but has benefits if you want to live in Little London or Little America.
As a tourist, it isn't very close to anything. You need to either take taxis out of Maadi or become comfortable with riding the Metro system (3 stations in Maadi).
I would advise you to look to WHY you are visiting Egypt before deciding where to stay. If you are here to meet friends, decide what kind of friends you want to meet. Foreigners (meaning Americans and Brits)..choose Maadi. Or, to put it bluntly, if you are here to bonk your Egyptian boyfriend, Maadi may be one of the few places you will find a flat where you can do that without problems....but don't expect that priviledge to come cheap. If you are here for any other reason, there are better places that make more sense to stay. Hotels are a good idea as well for a tourist.
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Maadi is very nice but it is definitely not close to the center; getting downtown can easily take an hour depending on the time of the day.
And, yes, there are restaurants, but no "serious" nightlife to speak of. I think Maadi is great for living there long-term but I wouldn't stay there if I was only going to be in Cairo for a month.
And, Debbie, there are lots of places in downtown, Zamalek and Mohandessin where you can have overnight visitors of the opposite sex ...
[This message has been edited by Dalia (edited 21 February 2005).]
Well, I must admit that there is no Egyptian boyfriend to bonk as there is no boyfriend, lol..so that really didn't factor into the equation for me. I was planning on obviously doing some tourist things but mainly I was thinking to spend the time writing and the quieter the environment (yes, I know, what solitude right?) the better. I'm not crazy about the idea of surrounding myself with Americans or Brits (not that there's anything wrong with them ::grin: but was thinking of the fact that I may be travelling alone and wanted to be on the safer side if you catch my drift.
As for the nightlife...I think I've left those years behind me, lol. Not that I don't like good music etc but I'm not much into the disco scene here so I imagine it wouldn't blow my skirt up there either (not that there's anything wrong with that scene, just already been there, done that sort of thing for me)...
posted
Ah, and when I said there was no boyfriend that wasn't meant to imply anything other than the fact that there is no boyfriend (not indirectly implying I play for the other team, lol)
Posts: 24 | From: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | Registered: Feb 2005
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hello CanadianPoetess can i know where do u live now ? and what you mean about no boyfriend ?? plz email me because i want ask you alo tof things kardous2003@yahoo.com Posts: 51 | From: Egypt | Registered: Nov 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Dalia: And, Debbie, there are lots of places in downtown, Zamalek and Mohandessin where you can have overnight visitors of the opposite sex ...
Oh yeah Dalia? How do you know? And where are all these places? Hmmmm? Want to tell us more?
And on the more serious side, would you recommend a one month only tourist/visitor to look for a place in Mohandiseen, downtown or Zamalek if that is what they wanted? And how would someone that doesn't know the area find just the right place? I'm not naive, I know you can probably bring someone up to your flat, the same as I can bring someone up to my flat, but I still think chances of a newbie finding a flat where that would be as safe to do as it would be in Maadi (in general) are slim. If you feel differently, how would someone that does not know the ins and outs of being descreet in this city do it?
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Maadi is a quiet area if that is what you are looking for. Not only US and UK expats, but Canadians as well ;-) Like mentioned above, the prices will be higher than other areas and your short stay could be a factor too.
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posted
Hello! Im a Canadian living in Maadi! (im from Montreal) Maadi rocks! If you want to live in a quiet place in Cairo, its probably the only place... THe only green one too. Its quiet, not crowded and not too poluted. Dont worry about people saying lots of brits and americans live there. Its true, more live in maadi than in other areas but they still dont make up 10% of maadi population. I mean, you ll deal with egyptians until you are saturated; maadi is not like little america! believe me, it feels and look like egypt to me!!
beside, it would never take 1 hr to get downtown! if you take the metro its 20-30 minutes. If you want to take a taxi, its about 2$ (CDN) My roommate is canadian too! my email is on my profile if you want to talk to me or see my pics. oh, and yes rent is more expensive but its still 10 times cheaper than renting a flat in an urban area in Canada!
posted
Thanks very much everyone for your input here. I appreciate the insight you were able to offer.
The entire thing about being able to invite male guests into wherever I stay is neither here nor there to me. I want to avoid problems at all costs so if it's entirely culturally inappropriate there to have male company in the flat etc then that's no problem for me since I don't plan to be there for romantic purposes anyway, lol...
I was talking to someone I work with today who has an Egyptian neighbour that told me that he thought there was a Sherton Hotel (or something similar) at 12 Road 161 in Maadi and that I might be able to get good rates there. I can't seem to find them listed on the internet or in the white pages (411) but maybe I'm not looking for the right name/place etc? Does anyone know if a reverse directory exists for Cairo where you can type in an address and get the phone # or business name etc for that address?
I'll check out the websites that were pointed out here too ~ once again, thanks very much for your input folks
posted
The Residence Inn in Maadi would be ideal for you. It's a hotel, but they rent flats. You get a kitchen and a bedroom and a living room. It's perfect for what you need. I'm sure it is on Rd 18. There are one or two restaurants on the ground floor and I think a Coffeeology 101 or one of those good coffee shops next door too, if they aren't out of business. They specialize in short term rentals for business people and I suppose tourists like yourself that want something more than a hotel room.
There are NO Sheratons in Maadi. There is a Sofitel, the Cairotel, and the Maadi something or other, but I think the Residence Inn would be more appropriate. Oh yeah and that lady on here that has been advertising the B&B in Maadi. You might look around for her ad.
quote:Originally posted by Debbie: And on the more serious side, would you recommend a one month only tourist/visitor to look for a place in Mohandiseen, downtown or Zamalek if that is what they wanted? And how would someone that doesn't know the area find just the right place?
No, I wouldn't. But then I wouldn't recommend renting a flat anywhere to a one month-visitor. I know it's possible because I've done it myself, but I think a hotel is a better option and will save you time and hassle.
Regarding male guests - when I was looking for a place it was essential to me that I can have people over whenever I want to. It happened a couple of times that I saw a place and was told male visitors are not allowed (or only if they are not Egyptian). I would not accept such a limitation of my private life - particularly when I pay a much higher rent than an Egyptian would anyway, so those apartments were ruled out for me.
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