Cairo - Culture

There are numerous cultural centresin Cairo,which have very varied programmes incorporating lectures, films, music, exhibitions and other cultural events. Details are available in the monthly magazine Egypt Today (www.egypttoday.com) and in the newspaper Al-Ahram Weekly (http://weekly.ahram.org.eg).

There is no city-wide ticketing organisation. For tourists, the best way to buy tickets is from their hotel concierge or a local travel agency, such as American Express (tel: (02) 570 3411), Misr Travel (tel: (02) 333 0011) or Thomas Cook (tel: (02) 574 3955 or 3776).

Music

Cairo Opera House
Thisseven-storey building isthe city's main venue for drama, dance, film and music. It is located in the National Cultural Centre in the Gezira Exhibition Grounds on Gezira Island and is one of seven theatres (one open-air) and concert halls in the complex, offering a busy programme of opera, dance and music across the genres.Visitors should note that in the main hall men must wear a jacket and tie.

El Borg Gezira
Tel: (02) 2739 0144.
Website: www.cairoopera.org

Arabic Music Institute
The institute hostsperformances given by the Umm Kalthoum Classical Arabic Music Troupe.

22 Ramsis Street
Tel: (02) 574 3373.

Dance

Cairo Sheraton
Dance is not a major art form in Cairo, unless you count the folk dance shows that many hotels incorporate as part of the entertainment packages for their guests. Other options include belly dancing. This can beenjoyedin Las Vegas-style productions at several international hotels and on some of the dinner boats run by the hotels. A cheaper and possibly less cheerful version can be found in several clubs on Al Haram Street.

Midan el Galaa in Dokki
Tel: (02) 3336 9800.
Website: www.starwoodhotels.com

Ghouri Caravansary
Sufi dancing, more commonly known in the West as the dance of the whirling dervishes, can be seen on Wednesday and Saturday evenings at the Ghouri Caravansary.

Sheikh Mohamed Abdu Street, off Sharia Al-Azhar
Tel: (02) 909 146.

Arts

Atelier du Caire
Cairo has a healthy art scene, with numerous galleries spread around the city. To discover what is going on, the Atelier du Caire acts as both gallery and a meeting place for artists.

2 Karim al-Dawla
Tel: (02) 574 6730.