Maadi

Our apartment is in Maadi, a "suburb" about seven miles south of downtown Cairo, and also located on the River Nile. Maadi is home to quite a few ex-pats like ourselves (probably a few thousand), but I understand the total population here is something like two million. There are shopping centers, even malls, and high rise apartments everywhere, with more under construction. However, there are still some quiet tree lined streets, and we can walk safely to local grocery stores and the metro. Although there are sidewalks on most streets, they are usually not worth using as they are frequently obstructed by cars parked on them, or advertising signs or utility poles. Streets are numbered and arranged somewhat haphazardly, and there are many intersections built as roundabouts, or midans as they are called here. These are often filled with trees and provide some green relief for all the concrete. They are also interesting for drivers as there don't seem to be strict rules about directions - you can take the shortest route around if there aren't too many other cars to challenge. Kind of defeats the whole purpose of a roundabout, but driving here is generally a free for all with heavy reliance on the horn and agressive posturing.

Lush bougainvillea.	A typical midan (traffic circle).
Good Morning Maadi.	A lovely villa with flowering trees.
Another flowering tree.	Street vendors at the metro.