CITY · EGYPTBooks set in Cairo
30.044, 31.236
33 books · 22 authors · 1947–2025
33 books here
Most-set authors
Naguib Mahfouz (11) · Alaa Al Aswany (2) · P. Djèlí Clark (1) · Hisham Matar (1) · Waguih Ghali (1) · Yasmine El Rashidi (1)
Genres
literary fiction (16) · historical fiction (2) · science fiction (1) · romance (1) · thriller & suspense (1)
Books set here
Set in Cairo (29)
A Master of Djinn
P. Djèlí Clark
Primary setting
Anatomy of a Disappearance
Hisham Matar
Nile-side family home
Arabian Nights and Days
Naguib Mahfouz
Unnamed medieval Islamic city inspired by Mahfouz's native Gamaliyya quarter of Cairo
Autumn Quail
Naguib Mahfouz
Primary setting; corrupt bureaucrat falls from grace in post-1952 revolution Cairo
Beer in the Snooker Club
Waguih Ghali
1950s Cairo social clubs
Children of Gebelawi
Naguib Mahfouz
Cairo alley between urban quarter and desert; allegorical neighborhood stories
Chronicle of a Last Summer
Yasmine El Rashidi
family home across three summers
If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English
Noor Naga
Post-Arab Spring Cairo
Nearly Every Day
Mohammed Abdel Nabi
Fouad's life through 30 years of diaries; Egypt looms large as backdrop of an ordinary man's life
Palace of Desire
Naguib Mahfouz
Al-Jamaliyya district
Sugar Street
Naguib Mahfouz
Al-Jamaliyya district
Taxi
Khaled Al Khamissi
taxi drivers traverse Cairo
The Automobile Club of Egypt
Alaa Al Aswany
1940s Automobile Club Cairo
The Beggar
Naguib Mahfouz
Post-revolutionary Cairo under Nasser; Omar's existential crisis
The City Always Wins
Omar Robert Hamilton
2011 Tahrir Square uprising
The Harafish
Naguib Mahfouz
Ten generations of the al-Nagi family in their Cairo alley, around WWI and independence
The Last Watchman of Old Cairo
Michael David Lukas
Old Cairo Ibn Ezra Synagogue
The Map of Love
Ahdaf Soueif
turn-of-century Cairo romance and politics
The Open Door
Latifa al-Zayyat
primary setting
The Queue
Basma Abdel Aziz
Unnamed dystopian city modelled on post-Arab-Spring Cairo
The Thief and the Dogs
Naguib Mahfouz
Post-1952 revolution Cairo; thief navigating class and injustice
Zaat
Sonallah Ibrahim
Primary setting — Cairo, Egypt across three presidencies
Zayni Barakat
Gamal al-Ghitani
Mamluk Cairo surveillance state
The Cairo Trilogy
Naguib Mahfouz
family home streets
Palace Walk
Naguib Mahfouz
al-Jawad family home street
The Alchemist
Paulo Coelho
Midaq Alley
Naguib Mahfouz
alley in Islamic Cairo
Woman at Point Zero
Nawal El Saadawi
prison cell awaiting execution
The Yacoubian Building
Alaa Al Aswany
titular downtown Cairo building
Also featuring Cairo (4)
Dark Star Safari
Paul Theroux
Journey start: Cairo overland to Cape Town
Hopeless Kingdom
Kgshak Akec
Transit city; family stays in Cairo before moving to Australia
The Stolen Queen
Fiona Davis
Charlotte returns to Egypt to search for the stolen artifact
Women Who Blow on Knots
Ece Temelkuran
Tahrir Square protests Egypt
Notable locations in Cairo
Al-Gamaliya, Cairo1Al-Gamaliyya, Cairo1Al-Hussein Mosque1Bayn al-Qasrayn1Giza Necropolis1Khan el-Khalili1Khan el-Khalili, Gamaliyya1Qanatir Prison, Egypt1Yacoubian Building, Talaat Harb Street, Cairo1
Nearby books
Adrift on the Nile
Naguib Mahfouz
0 km · Nile River, Cairo
The Yacoubian Building
Alaa Al Aswany
0 km · Yacoubian Building, Talaat Harb Street, Cairo
Palace Walk
Naguib Mahfouz
3 km · Bayn al-Qasrayn
Midaq Alley
Naguib Mahfouz
3 km · Khan el-Khalili, Gamaliyya
The Cairo Trilogy
Naguib Mahfouz
3 km · Al-Gamaliya, Cairo
The Alchemist
Paulo Coelho
12 km · Giza Necropolis
Woman at Point Zero
Nawal El Saadawi
20 km · Qanatir Prison, Egypt
Exodus
28 km · Ancient Egypt