Rooftop partying at Unicorn Gardens

The oddly-named Unicorn Garden is a welcome edition to Cairo nightlife. Situated on the rooftop of the Greek Campus in Downtown, this new venue has started hosting an interesting array of events from club nights with interesting DJs, gigs, comedy nights, product launches, and lots more.

For a while I had been seeing the occasional picture from an event at Unicorn Gardens on social media, and was eager to go. Finally I saw a night pop up with some great DJs and gathered a group to go. After getting to the Greek Campus at 10 p.m., we could hear it, but we couldn't see it. We searched around the Greek Campus for a while until we finally found the elevator up to the roof. At the top, the drinks were flowing and music playing with an amazing 360-degree view of Cairo for a backdrop. It's a perfect place for a club night and puts the Zamalek boat clubs firmly in their place. Likewise, the music was on the whole, far better than most Cairo clubs. Despite a badly stocked bar that continually ran out of beers, and an annoying payment system with pre-paid cards, the place is well set up with ample space to dance or sit down for a smoke and chat.

We spent several hours dancing and ran into several old friends, all of which, equally relieved to finally have a space like this is in central Cairo without ridiculous entry fees, horrendous music, strict dress codes, and often an irritatingly flashy crowd. I loved it and have been many times since. In a city with an often lacking nightlife, Unicorn Gardens is just what Cairo needs, and hopefully what we will see more of. Cairo has some amazing DJs and electronic musicians, but has been let down by a lack of suitable venues and an active public scene. Let's hope Unicorn Garden is a taste of what's to come. I'll dance to that.

Although run by MO4, most nights seem to put on by outside promoters and groups. Because of this, there is no calendar of future events, and instead you have to rely on word of mouth and from coming across events on social media. Keep a look out for an upcoming event, and head on out! You can check out Unicorn Gardens on Facebook.