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Maadi (Arabic: ﻯﺩﺎﻌﻤﻟﺍ — el-Ma‛adi) is a suburb south of Cairo, Egypt. Its position is 29°58'N, 31°15'E. Maadi is named after an ancient town that once stood on much the same site as today's Maadi, and it has turned out to be a significant Predynastic archaeological site. However, building activity in the area has destroyed some archaeologically sensitive places.
Maadi traces its modern history to 1904 when the railway between Cairo and Helwan was built. This in combination with land speculation by the Mosseri cousins gave rise to a new town. Construction was originally limited to the area right near the railway, but eventually spread down to the river. Also, a large army camp was built east of the railway.
The town planning was done in 1905 by a retired Canadian officer Captain Alexander J. Adams. His vision led to the wide boulevards and large villas still seen in Maadi today. There were very strict rules associated with residential development in Maadi with regards to the size of houses, how much of the property could be occupied by the house and how much had to be left for the garden, and the size of the sidewalks. Even window shutters had prescribed colours.
There are nowadays also plenty of flats in Maadi, but most are in lowrise buildings. Most of Maadi's highrises are down near the river.
Streets are laid out mostly in a grid pattern, but there are several boulevards running at angles across the grid, meeting at busy roundabouts. Most streets in Maadi are not named; they are simply numbered. Most streets in town are fairly quiet, in stark contrast to most places in Greater Cairo; however, there are main traffic corridors in Maadi which are quite busy.
Maadi lies on the Nile about 12km upstream from downtown Cairo, on the east bank. The river is parallelled by the Corniche, a waterfront promenade of the kind found in many Egyptian towns. The main road into Cairo follows the Corniche. There is no bridge across the Nile at Maadi; the nearest one is in Cairo itself.
Maadi is the least densely populated neighbourhood in Greater Cairo, and much of the town is inhabited by well-to-do Egyptians as well as expatriates.
Residential street in Maadi Many embassies are located in Maadi, among them the Peruvian, Mexican, and Argentinian embassies.
Maadi is served by the Cairo Metro's Line 1, which has now taken over the Cairo-to-Helwan railway. There are three stops in Maadi. Egyptian National Railways also operate a line through Maadi, but it is strictly a freight line. There is no longer any passenger service; the station is closed.
Services in Maadi are geared to a great extent to serve the town's expatriate population. There are many churches, and even a seldom-used synagogue. There are also newspapers and magazines catering to this very large sector of Maadi's population. Preparations are also being made to build a golf course in Degla in the town's east end. Bookshops offering publications in English, French, German, and other languages as well as Arabic are to be found in Maadi. The Maadi Sporting Club has served the local community since 1921.
The town is also home to Cairo American College.
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