Cairo According to: Ismail Sabet

Ismail Sabet, aka Izmatique, has shot the likes of Marwan Pablo, Mona Zaki and Abo Kamar. Ismail Sabet, aka Izmatique, has shot the likes of Marwan Pablo, Mona Zaki and Abo Kamar. His work has appeared in collaborations and features with Dior, Puma, Vogue Arabia, British Vogue, and GQ Middle East, but what unites his unconventional portraits is the ever-present trace of Cairo, the city which shaped both him and many of his subjects. Remove the subjects, and Sabet's Cairo is, in his words, like the sea.

Here, he reveals his go-to spots for food, drinks, and dates, the Lebanese-Tunisian remix, which says Cairo to him, why Dokki's Simonds ought to be a city monument, and a Cairo memory he wishes he could re-experience for the first time.

A place that means Cairo to me:

19 Meret Basha Street. It’s the first place I moved after leaving my parents’ home. The view from my room overlooked the 6th of October Bridge and it was the first time I felt like I was actually seeing Cairo for what it is. Watching people go to work every morning, seeing the billboards on the bridge constantly change, and hearing the city moving all the time made me feel like I was always up to date with Cairo in a sensory way.Complete the following: Cairo is...

Like the sea to me. You’re always between tides and currents. If you move with it, it can take you somewhere unexpected. If you fight it, it can overwhelm you. And like the sea, it feels endless.What's your neighbourhood like?

Dokki. It’s my favorite neighborhood and, in many ways, the best reflection of Cairo. You can find almost every side of the city there: calm residential streets, chaotic main roads, old buildings standing next to newer ones. Where I live, within a 200-meter radius there’s a Metro supermarket under my building, and right in front of it a pharmacy, two homeware shops, a smoke shop, a sweets shop, a bakery, a coffee shop, and an electronics store. It’s the kind of place where everything you need is just downstairs or around the corner. Lively, very central, and still one of the most underrated areas in Cairo.Your go-to food spot?

Pad Thai from Sabai Sabai, Sharkaseya from Antique Khana, and the seafood sandwich from Sapori di Carlo.

Your go-to café or bar?

Currently Amor Perfecto and Foam. For drinks, Almeria.Your go-to date spot?

The Garden Promenade Café at the Marriott. A good date is one where the conversation never runs out and neither of you wants to leave. This is one of the few places in Cairo that’s open 24 hours, which somehow makes those conversations stretch even longer.

What isn’t a Cairo landmark but should be?

Simond’s, the Dokki branch. It has this very quirky half-store elevator inside, and the whole block smells like butter because of it. It’s also open 24 hours.

Tell us a song that feels like Cairo.

Mor مر التجني Club (Deena Abdelwahed Remix) by Yasmine Hamdan & Deena AbdelwahedWhat's a place in Cairo you wish you could revisit for the first time?

Not a specific place, but I’d love to relive the first time I took a kayak on the Nile. It felt surreal to suddenly find yourself in complete serenity in the middle of Cairo, at a time of day when everything around you is so loud and overstimulating.