Uptown Cairo is a 1,000-1,200 acre master-plan gated community built atop the Mokattam Mountain, a huge limestone plateau rising 200 meters above the eastern desert of New Cairo. Emaar Properties, the Dubai company that built the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, and downtown Dubai, developed Uptown Cairo starting in 2007. The gated community is very different than much of Cairo, looking more like Spain or Arizona than Egypt. Legal disputes with the Egyptian government have plagued the developers and it has slowed completion of the compound. The most recent settlement dictates Emaar must finish by 2028. We live in one of the many phases which are mixed, with some being massive, multi-million dollar villas down to nice, furnished apartments. The center piece is a beautiful golf course that rarely has golfers. In Egypt I noticed several compounds with golf courses that are more for the views than actually playing golf. There is also a retail center (grocery store, internet office, restaurants, cafes, etc.) which is convenient.
My two favorite aspects of living here are first, being close to the school so we have a short commute, and second, I can get decent bicycle rides in and around the compound safely. Emaar installed many speed bumps all over keep vehicles moving slowly and they have wide, tree-lined roads that provide shade and a smooth rides. The hills are a good size, not soul-crushing mountains of Uzbekistan, but more like the hills in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I can get 20-25 kilometer bike ride any time. It is a little bit boring taking the same routes, but living in the megapolis of Cairo, I am grateful I am able to ride safely anytime. We haven’t played tennis yet at the sports center, but Nadia has swam laps in the pool and worked out with her trainer in the gym at the nearby community center.
Often expatriates like to live in more vibrant parts of Cairo like Maadi or Zamalek. At our ages, Nadia and I prefer the quiet and convenience of a gated community, sacrificing proximity to cafés, restaurants, and the visual feast of street life in Cairo. There is a nearby district of Mokattam, that looks like downtown Cairo, Mumbai, Bangkok, etc. We can drive down the mountain to get some of that. Obi is begging me for a walk, so I need to stop writing.
