Paris may be the city of love but Cairo is the city of people. People come from all over the world to see Cairo, study in Cairo, and experience a different life here. And when people get together magical things can happen, so I spoke to some people who met their significant other in the city of people and why it matters to them.
Rania Emam*, Met in Maadi
“We met at club 7 in Maadi to play tennis, it was amazing, and an out of the blue and different way to meet someone. I feel like Cairo has so much to cater to whatever needs we have. Cairo is home to me. We both lived abroad but honestly, it’s nothing compared to here. The community has its flaws but it’s so family-oriented. We are always there for each other. Sha3b gad3een. We felt an immediate connection because of our love for Egypt with our experiences abroad. Cairo is our home. Our home base. It’s the vibe. It’s indescribable and cannot be replicated anywhere.
Maadi is home for both of us giving us a touch of abroad with the home vibes of Egypt. Around whichever corner you want, you’ll find whatever you want. Whenever we need to talk about serious matters or celebrate, we are in Maadi, be it for the food, the calm vibes, or because you can walk freely.”
Sophie Louise Matláry, Met in Zamalek
“We met in Zamalek at Deals. It’s special to him as he loves the place but I find it a bit dark inside. Cairo is very special to me; it’s where I met my husband and I learned a lot about life! It made me much more knowledgeable about global affairs and Africa and the MENA. Cairo is where we are based now but we come and go.”
Samira Ahmed*, Met in Dokki
“We met each other in Dokki in a cafe called Arika. Dokki is more special to me than the cafe itself but Cairo and specifically Zamalek are closer to my heart because that’s where our relationship started and our most beautiful memories are in Zamalek. If it wasn’t for Cairo, I would’ve never met him, and also Cairo has so many couple and friends activities and places to let a relationship expand and blossom.”
Kalisha Raf*, Met in Madinet Nasr
“We had both traveled to Egypt separately to learn Arabic and were introduced by friends who ran a European languages center in Madinet Nasr, we met first at the center and hit it off right away and got engaged the following week!
Cairo is definitely special to us. It feels like a second home when in the UK it’s like I’m on my home ground, and in Australia, we are on his home ground so Cairo is a place where we are both away from everything we know and both trying everything for the first time and exploring Egypt in general. The streets around where we first met and where we lived for the first two years of our relationship have lots of memories. Cairo is special to me individually as I first moved out of my parents’ home to study in Egypt.
We always talk about traveling back to Egypt for our 10 year anniversary to visit all the old places we used to frequent and we definitely plan on retiring in Egypt. Egypt is a magical place, I miss it all the time and have so many fond memories of my time in Egypt. I first traveled to Egypt at 18 for a year and a half to study at the Fajr center and fell in love with Cairo. I would spend my summers in Egypt and eventually moved back 3 years later. I am a convert to Islam and being in Egypt allowed me to grow more confident in my identity and I had so many opportunities in Egypt.”
Sadia Saba, Met in New Cairo
“We met in Tagammoa. I was actually a study abroad student and heard from some friends back home that Tinder was a good place to meet new people to hang out with, so we met on Tinder and he said he was only looking for friends as well. After a week of texting, we met up and he took me to the Master gas station and we just got snacks and talked the whole night!
Master is so special to me now. I even got him a bracelet with the address/coordinates on it because our first hangout means so much to us. Because we’re in a long-distance relationship, Cairo is the city where we are able to see each other and where all of our memories are.”
Norhan Aly*, Met in New Cairo
“I actually live in Canada and he lives in Egypt. We met over the summer in 2019 when I was visiting but didn’t really talk until a few months later when I returned to Canada. My work sent me to Kenya for a few weeks so I thought I would come to Egypt for the weekend to see him. We met up officially as a couple at the restaurant Tamara in the Waterway 1 Plaza. This spot is extremely special to me and Cairo as a whole because this is where I met my forever person.”
Kirsten Murray, Met in a Cairo Gym
“We met at a CrossFit gym in Cairo in 2018. Things clicked between us almost instantly. We both love Egypt and loved experiencing it together while hanging out with friends and eating Egyptian food together. Zach asked me to be his girlfriend while we were in the top of a minaret of Bab Zuwayla looking out over all of Cairo. The memory feels like a fairy tale and we love that part of our story so much. Khan el Khalili is not just a tourism place for us, it’s genuinely one of our favorite places to go and fall in love all over again. We met in Cairo, Egypt and it’s also the place where we found ourselves and what we are passionate about. We are so thankful to have moved back to pursue our passions together in the same country we met and fell in love in. Being in Cairo constantly reminds me of all the reasons we became a couple in the first place.
I’m a travel/documentary photographer and videographer here in Egypt and Zach is about to graduate with his master’s in Middle Eastern studies from AUC. Cairo has been a place where both of us have been able to enjoy our passions to the fullest together. We are literally living our dreams here right now.”
Bassma Khaled, Met in Nasr City
“We met in Nasr City at his work… he was appointed by his manager to convince me to join the company which was back then a small startup… But it seems later he also got me to join his life journey and marry him. The spot where we met is not special but a few spots in Cairo are special to us because of the memories we had created there together, like downtown is where we had our first date, we walked together in many of Cairo’s old streets and explored the city. Our friends and family are what make Cairo special.”
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