If you caught our obviously very insightful guide to the tents/kheimas you need to visit this year, you'll know that there's certainly no shortage of options this Ramadan. Bringing together everything that Egyptians love (food, mosalsalat, football match screenings and antakha) we bring you five more...
Hilarious word-play aside, the Tap East's version of the traditional Ramadan kheima, retains all the best features of the New Cairo bar-come-restaurant. Serving fetar on weekend and sohour every night, El 7anafeya is casual, chilled and generally just plain fun, with live music and even the spot of stand-up adding the cherry on top of this proverbial ice-cream sundae. For more info and reservations, send a message on the Tap East's Facebook page and wait anxiously for a reply while thinking through a 'Plan B' - yeah, it's busy.
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El Khedewy @ Royal Maxim Palace Kempinski
'The Palace' - a cool new nickname we're trying to make 'happen' - has had no trepidation in its approach to its first Ramadan. While the New Cairo hotel has plenty going on in restaurants such as The State and Bab Al Qasr - as well as a special Ramadan spa offer - the El Khedewy tent is where it's at, so to speak, with both group fetar and sohour on offer, top-notch shisha, live entertainment every night and a surprise or two. For more information, call 02-2389-9000.
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Celebrated for its stunning view and unique ambiance, derided for its prices and sporadic minimum charge, Dos Canas divides opinions; but one thing that both sides can agree on is that there's nothing quite like it in Cairo. The Garden City bar and taperia is marking Ramadan with Amaseena - a take on the kheima concept dressed up in the Cairo Capital Club venue's trademark casual elegance and general smooth-as-silk atmosphere. For more information, call 0100-498-6811.
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Although it's seen better days, Cairo Tower still remains one of the defining features of Cairo's skyline - and thank god they took down those tacky lights. Now lets just get something out of the way - 3al Borg isn't 'on the tower' - but beside it on ground level in its garden. Though this discovery was a a disappointment to some, this is one tent that strikes the perfect balance of tradition and goofy fun (see photo above) offering both fetar and sohour catered by Zooba and a rather jolly atmosphere to boot. Call 01124007775 or 01124007778 for more info.
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The Lemon Tree & Co. might be dead, but its remnants have been resurrected this Ramadan in the form of one of last year's most popular tents, Lemonada. Offering an open-buffet for fetar, Lemonada is best experienced at sohour, where shisha, Euro 2016 screenings and the combination of dim lights, a breezy Nile View and slow-mo, almost picturesque, puffs of shisha smoke encapsulating you in a very cool and rather hip Ramadan experience. Call 01111076699.
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By Kalam El Qahaira
