Cairo/East



The eastern districts of Cairo are a series of planned communities which have been built away from the congestion of historic Cairo. The most prominent communities are Heliopolis, Nasr City, and New Cairo. Cairo International Airport is also located in this area, just to the east of Heliopolis.

Heliopolis (مصر الجديدة Masr el-Gedida, lit. "New Egypt" or "New Cairo") is the oldest district, established in 1905 not far from the ancient city of Heliopolis (which is located to the northwest). The ancient city was dedicated to the god Atum, but it declined after the Persians took over control of Egypt in 525 BC. Modern Heliopolis was established in 1907 by the Belgian Baron Empain, with a streetcar line running between Heliopolis and central Cairo. It's one of the nicest places to live in Cairo, but there isn't much to visit as a tourist. The main reason to stay here is the proximity to the airport.

Nasr City was established by Gamal Abdel Nasser in the 1960s. It was intended to be a new capital city, but never developed as planned. It now has a socially mixed population including many immigrants, and is an economic center containing many shopping malls.

New Cairo (القاهرة الجديدة‎‎ El Qāhera El Gedīda), established in 2000, covers a vast area in the far east of the city. Its current population is around 200,000, but it's planned for an eventual population of 5 million.

By car
Eastern Cairo is very car dependent and traffic jams are common. Using the Ring road is the best option of arriving here.

By public transport
Heliopolis is located between Cairo International Airport and central Cairo and is reachable from downtown by the metro's line 3. Other parts of eastern Cairo is undeserved by public transport. A monorail system is under construction and is expected to open in 2024. Until then, crammed and unreliable buses is the only option.

The new high-speed railway line between Alexandria and Ain Sokhna will have a station serving eastern Cairo when it opens in 2024.

The historic tram system that once ran to Heliopolis was removed in 2015.