“When I visited Egypt in college, my childhood friend Omar took me and some friends to check out Mokattam Corniche, the highest point in Cairo. Locals recommend coming here at sunset, but we went at night and it was amazing to see the city transformed into a million lights.”

“This bookstore has various locations across Cairo and sells books in both Arabic and English. It’s also where you can pick up my graphic novels and other wonderful comics from across the Middle East.”

“This is probably one of the most exclusive nadis—or country clubs—in Cairo. My family didn’t have a membership here (we were relegated to the more middle-class Shams Club), but my cousin Rania did because my late uncle was a diplomat, and she took me on her guest pass sometimes. This place is on the island of Zamalek in Cairo and has the lushest trees and gardens. As a teen, it was one of the few clubs where I could freely swim around in a bikini. Day passes are available for visitors.”

“This was our family’s spot to get shawarma in Heliopolis. I particularly loved that the meat—fried in fat on the grill after being sliced off the shawarma tower—came on a brioche-like bun. We just kind of stood around and ate a couple of these while swatting away flies and downing a bottle of Pepsi as a late-night snack. Heaven!”

“Khan el-Khalili is the mega souk in Cairo. It’s gigantic, it’s beautiful, and it has everything Arab you could possibly want: brass jewelry, mosaic-framed mirrors, sequined galabeyas, Bedouin-style woven rugs. I used to drag my dad here every summer so I could buy souvenirs for my classmates at school. He’d get mad because it would take like an hour to park, wade through all the tourists in the heat—all for me to spend like $20 on a few stuffed camels.”

“King Farouk established this park in the 1940s, and it was regarded as one of the prettiest green spaces in Cairo. When I was a kid, I’d come here and go on the merry-go-round. As a teen, I’d gather with cousins to smoke hookah. You might wonder why it’s such a big deal to go into a park, but when you’re around the constant traffic and chaos of the city, it’s a nice oasis.”

“This store has the cutest home gifts with its twist of folksy Arab modern design. Come for the embroidered goods, the artwork, and the ceramics. And a selfie in front of its lime-green exterior.”

“Whenever we hopped into a cab to go to Nana’s house, my dad would tell the driver: ‘Saint Fatima Square!’ And from there we’d walk the few blocks over to her ground-level apartment on Abd Al Rahman Roshdi Street. This is the neighborhood where my dad grew up and where I also spent a lot of time poking around as a kid.”

"This sleepy little mall is definitely not worth going to. It has no good shops, is dead before 6 p.m., and is not the preferred hangout for young people. But as a teenager, it was super convenient because it was just a few blocks from my dad’s flat in Nasr City. My cousin Ahmad and I would go to the internet café here almost every day to see if our friends in the States were awake and on AIM. Usually they weren’t, so we’d just buy a bottle of Pepsi and walk around.”