Hello, friends and welcome to the final issue of this year’s EnterpriseAM: Destination Sahel. And a blessed Mawlid Al-Nabawi to all those observing. If history is anything to go by, this long weekend will mark the final peak of the season. By next week, the crowds will begin thinning out, the roads will get quieter, and much of Sahel will start its annual transition back to near-empty mode.
And for now, there is an economic logic behind the season winding down. Much of Sahel’s retail, F&B, entertainment, and services infrastructure is built around a financial model that depends on squeezing a year’s worth of business into a few very busy summer months. Restaurants staff up, retailers stock up, and entertainment operators build their calendars around the July-August rush. Keeping all of that running for a fraction of the footfall in October, let alone January, is a difficult proposition. And so we arrive at the same chicken-or-the-egg problem: people are reluctant to stay when services disappear, while businesses have little incentive to stay when the people disappear.
Even Yalla Sahel, the public-private-sector initiative that launched for the first time this summer with the ambition of helping turn the North Coast into a destination that extends beyond the traditional season, wraps up its activities in August. That's not a criticism of an initiative that has helped bring together events, entertainment, hospitality, and experiences across the coast. But we hope next year Yalla Sahel, and other initiatives like it, can push the calendar in both directions, starting before June and carrying on well beyond September and October.
There are signs that the equation is beginning to change, little by little. Tourism industry players tell EnterpriseAM that Gulf visitors are increasingly sticking around after the Egyptian August rush subsides. International tourism is also growing: the North Coast is expected to welcome 250-260k foreign tourists this year, Tourism Minister Sherif Fathy said yesterday (watch, runtime: 1:08:46), with charter traffic rising 32% y-o-y at Alamein Airport and 26% at Marsa Matrouh Airport. Direct flights from Russia are also set to run from the end of August through November.
And perhaps the biggest opportunity to break Sahel’s seasonal cycle has little to do with the beach. New Alamein is beginning to build an events calendar that extends beyond summer, starting with the Egypt International Airshow and its accompanying aerospace symposium on 7-10 September. Then comes the inaugural Alamein Africa Forum on 2-4 October, which is expected to bring more than 1k participants, including executives, government delegations, investors, and policymakers, to the city. Conference and exhibition tourism is precisely the kind of business that could give hotels, restaurants, and services a reason to stay open long after the beach crowds have gone home.
That appears to be where the government wants to take things. The ultimate objective is not simply to stretch an eight-week summer into three or four months, but to turn the North Coast into a 12-month destination, Fathy said. The government is offering stronger aviation incentives during the shoulder months of May-June and October-November and looking to conferences and exhibitions to generate winter demand. It is also packaging the coast with Cairo and Siwa to give international visitors more reasons to come and stay longer. The challenge now is turning those pockets of demand into enough consistent footfall to make staying open worthwhile for the businesses that make Sahel livable in the first place.
Developers, meanwhile, are still finding new ways to stand out as competition for buyers intensifies. From tomorrow through 29 August, Al Ahly Sabbour, along with Beltone Mortgage, Property Finder, and Coldwell Banker Egypt are bringing the open-house model to the North Coast, allowing prospective buyers to experience a move-in-ready seafront home at Al Ahly Sabbour’s Amwaj before deciding whether to buy. The format puts the finished home at the center of the sales pitch, as developers look beyond prices and payment plans to win over increasingly selective buyers.
IN TODAY’S ISSUE- We look at the industrial economy beginning to take shape alongside the North Coast’s real estate and tourism boom, and speak to two residents who have already done what many still consider unthinkable: make Sahel their year-round home. We also sit down with Mariolino Beach House founder Mario Jr. Haddad on the economics of operating in Sahel, why the two-month season keeps prices high, and why he thinks an April-to-November season is not only possible, but inevitable.
The North Coast’s development boom is beginning to build an industrial economy alongside the homes, hotels, and tourism infrastructure reshaping the Mediterranean coastline. New industrial capacity in Alamein, an investment zone under development in Ras El Hekma, and the planned Gargoub special economic zone are gradually adding manufacturing and logistics to a development story that has until now been dominated by real estate and tourism.
Why now? The sheer scale of construction underway from Sidi Abdel Rahman to Marsa Matrouh is creating a ready market for manufacturers, particularly building materials producers, while new roads and proximity to Alexandria’s ports are strengthening the economics of producing closer to the North Coast. Longer term, policymakers and industrial developers are looking to broaden that base into agribusiness, logistics, consumer industries, and potentially exports.
Alamein is at the center of the industrial push
The Alamein industrial zone is one of the key areas the government is counting on under its Industrial Strategy 2030 to attract a more diverse pool of investments, particularly given its proximity to major ports, a government source tells EnterpriseAM. The government is expanding infrastructure and industrial projects in cooperation with the area’s industrial developer, while also studying a request to allocate an area for leather tanning activities in New Alamein.
Industrial land is getting more expensive: The Industry Ministry is raising land prices in New Alamein this month to EGP 2,965 per sqm for industrial land ownership and EGP 3,570 per sqm for youth workshops, according to a government document reviewed by EnterpriseAM.
Building materials are the natural starting point
For now, the industrial story is being driven largely by the construction boom already taking place on the coast. IDG, currently the only industrial developer operating in Alamein, has sold around 22-25 factories at its industrial park, CEO Shady William tells EnterpriseAM. Around half are under construction and three are operational, with all three producing building materials.
That concentration is no accident. William estimates that roughly 130 km between Sidi Abdel Rahman and Marsa Matrouh is seeing development activity, creating what he describes as a large “captured audience” for building materials manufacturers. Locating production in Alamein can reduce the increasingly significant cost of transporting products from Cairo or Alexandria as fuel, trucking, and road toll costs rise.
And IDG is already expanding to capture the next wave of demand. Its industrial park is planned across 2.7 mn sqm, of which an initial 500k sqm has been developed. The company is now adding another 1 mn sqm after sales in the first phase reached the threshold for expansion. The larger footprint will also allow IDG to accommodate manufacturers requiring plots of 40k-60k sqm, compared with the 5k-10k sqm plots initially targeted at SMEs.
The next opportunity: Agribusiness and logistics
Agribusiness is emerging as another natural fit. Proximity to agricultural production around Wadi El Natrun gives food processing, packaging, and logistics companies access to nearby raw materials, while Alexandria Port provides a relatively short route for manufacturers dependent on imported inputs, William tells EnterpriseAM.
Warehousing demand is already strong enough for IDG to plan a logistics hub inside its industrial park. Demand is coming from agriculture, mining, oil and gas, manufacturers, contractors, and real estate developers looking to store construction materials, imported furniture, and other inputs close to their North Coast projects. Some major developers have already taken warehouse space at the park for this purpose, William says.
But Alamein still has a chicken-and-egg problem
The industrial opportunity may be there, but attracting businesses from Cairo and Alexandria requires more than factories and roads. Alamein still lacks the year-round ecosystem needed to convince white-collar employees and their families to relocate, particularly international-standard schools, universities, and high-quality healthcare, William tells EnterpriseAM.
The same problem extends to utilities. The broader industrial area has been planned with infrastructure including a dedicated electricity station, but the investment required to build that capacity needs to be justified by sufficient industrial demand, William says. IDG, meanwhile, has designed its own infrastructure ahead of demand, with electricity infrastructure capable of accommodating around 120 MW compared with current consumption of only 5-6 MW.
The government says it is working on that broader ecosystem. The state is investing in roads, infrastructure, and different housing segments in Alamein, including accommodation serving workers, while remaining services continue to be developed, the government source tells EnterpriseAM. The aim is to turn Alamein into a year-round urban and industrial center rather than a seasonal destination.
A greener industrial base is also part of the plan
The government also wants new industrial capacity in Alamein to carry a greener footprint. “Plans include expanding solar generation to eventually cover as much as 25% of the electricity requirements of new factories”, the government source tells EnterpriseAM. Policymakers also see the nearby Dabaa nuclear power plant as part of the region’s future energy advantage, the source adds.
The longer-term industrial mix could also become more diversified. The government source points to an existing petrochemicals complex and New Concrete’s building materials operations among industrial activity already in the area, while the government is considering adding leather tanning.
From construction materials to consumer industries?
Industrial cities tend to develop in stages, William says. Building materials come first while construction is underway. Furniture, electrical components, and lighting follow as homes become occupied. FMCG and pharma become viable once a permanent population creates sufficient year-round consumer demand. Alamein is still in the first stage of that cycle.
That transition is expected to accelerate over the next five years as the North Coast increasingly stretches beyond its traditional summer season, William notes. Schools, universities, and healthcare will be critical: Establishing top-tier institutions could encourage families that already own homes on the coast to relocate permanently, creating the population base needed to support both services and a broader manufacturing ecosystem.
And the industrial map doesn't stop at Alamein
Ras El Hekma is also being positioned as an investment destination. An investment zone currently under development there is expected to see some EGP 3.8 tn in investment over 10-20 years and support around 1.2 mn jobs, Assistant Investment Minister for Promotion Mohamed Ayad tells EnterpriseAM. Investment zones provide a single administrative authority for project licenses and approvals, a structure the government hopes will help attract foreign investors.
Farther west, Gargoub could give the North Coast an export dimension. A 402-feddan special economic zone planned on the Northwestern Mediterranean coast could strengthen Egypt’s trade links with neighboring Libya and provide another gateway toward European markets. Libya represents a significant potential market, while a free-zone model near the border could help expand bilateral trade and open a larger market for Egyptian products, Arab Federation of Industrial Chambers member Alaa Nasr tells EnterpriseAM.
The missing piece: A year-round ecosystem
The North Coast is gradually developing into more than a real estate and tourism corridor. The construction boom is providing the initial industrial demand, while ports, roads, agricultural production, warehousing, and potentially export markets provide the ingredients for a broader manufacturing base. But whether that industrial base diversifies beyond construction-linked businesses will ultimately depend on the same question facing the North Coast’s year-round living ambitions: whether enough people, services, and economic activity can remain there after the summer ends. Much of the “hard wiring” is already in place, William says. What Alamein needs next is the “software”: schools, universities, and high-quality healthcare.
🏠🌊Years ago, the idea of living year-round in Sahel would have been laughable. The North Coast has — for years — justifiably remained an exclusively summer destination. The conversation has changed as of late, and year-round living on the Mediterranean stretch is no longer a far-fetched notion. In 2025, developers and government officials made the case: desalination plants coming online, schools in the licensing pipeline, healthcare services beginning to take shape, retail chains setting up shop past September. A year later, we wanted to know how much of that promise actually turned into reality.
EnterpriseAM spoke to two residents who now call Sahel home year-round to ask what life looks like for them on a day-to-day basis, how they cope off-season, and what challenges remain.
Year-round in Marassi
“We wouldn’t change what we’re doing or where we live for anything.” Dr. Maha Blakeway (LinkedIn) has lived on the North Coast full-time, year-round, since 2018 — long before most areas of the coast as we know it today had names attached to them. A naturopathic and functional med doctor who runs an online practice specializing gut health and the microbiome, Blakeway tells EnterpriseAM she and her husband, Christopher Blakeway — who helped build the Bibliotheca Alexandrina — had spent more than 20 years in London before deciding to retire by the sea. Egyptian-British herself and originally from Alexandria, she says the decision to settle in Marassi rather than Cairo or Alexandria was deliberate: “We’d always intended to retire by the sea. We knew that wasn’t easy, we knew that was going to be challenging, but we were up for the challenge.”
The early years meant building a supply chain from scratch. When the Blakeways moved in 2018, Marassi had little beyond basic groceries, Blakeway says. Her husband commuted to Alexandria twice a week for his work at the library and would bring back a week's worth of shopping; she supplemented with what she could find in nearby Sidi Abdel Rahman, though she found the quality inconsistent for her dietary standards as a nutritionist. The one disruption to that routine came from an unlikely source: Covid-19. “There was more food being delivered during Covid to Sahel than at any other time,” she notes — a surge in year-round residents briefly making the market worth serving, before demand collapsed again once the pandemic eased and people returned to the cities.
She says the supply picture has changed meaningfully in the last three years — and credits it to a specific development. The Ras El Hekma-adjacent Dabaa nuclear project has brought a sizable Russian population to the area, Blakeway says, which has in turn supported a year-round supermarket roughly 10 minutes from her home. It’s a direct example, in her account, of a pattern she thinks holds across the coast: infrastructure follows population, not the other way around. “Where there is a population of people — enough people to serve — people will serve you,” she says.
“Oh yes, 100%,” Blakeway says when asked whether she has sufficient access to healthcare and other amenities. “For emergencies, there’s the El Alamein Hospital, which is, again, 15 minutes from us. And we’ve had a few incidents where we’ve had to go. And actually, now in Marassi, we have an all year-round emergency hospital as of now. My husband had a cut on his forehead last year, and we were there in two minutes.” Asked whether the Marassi facility serves North Coast residents generally or only those inside the compound, she adds: “I believe it is open to everyone. It’s obviously an emergency hospital, so they won’t deny someone who needs medical help.”
On entertainment, Blakeway is careful to draw a line around what she’s actually describing. “Where we’re lucky in Marassi — but I will exclusively speak about Marassi, obviously — so we have an all-year-round 18-hole golf course, so my husband plays golf,” she says. “We have hotels, so if you want to have a nice dining experience with entertainment as well, we go to one of those hotels twice a week for dinners.” Beyond the compound gates, though: “I don’t believe there are any amenities out there.”
…And there’s one more thing that makes year-round living much easier for the Blakeways: “In Sidi Abdel Rahman, opposite, there are now governmental offices. If you want to renew your ID, that’s literally across the road, and that’s all year-round,” she says. “There’s the National Bank and other banks open all year-round in Sidi Abdel Rahman. There’s tailors, there’s upholstery, there’s dry cleaners — there’s everything, actually, across the road.”
There is, however, a dead period. “During February — sort of mid-January to mid-March — it’s a very down time. There’s almost no one around other than the Russian population that’s here. And it gets very cold. Not colder than Europe, but similar,” she says. “That can get you down.”
On whether the coast could absorb a doubling of its year-round population, Blakeway is skeptical: “If we're going to be realistic and honest, it will never turn into Cairo or Alexandria, for two reasons. At the moment, there are no schools — good quality schools. There are no international schools, so that’s the first obstacle,” she says.
Physical infrastructure, by contrast, she considers already proven: “I think the infrastructure is built to sustain the number of units that are there, because in August, they’re all open — these units — and the infrastructure manages. That shouldn't be a problem, I think, as far as infrastructure is concerned.”
Eight years in, Blakeway says she has no regrets — and no shortage of alternatives. “We’re in the steering wheel, we’re in control,” she says. She and her husband maintain a home in Alexandria and hold British passports that would let them return to London at any point, but “there’s nowhere in the world that would attract us to move to."
Studying in Alamein
Jannah Ahmed is a third-year medical student at the College of Medicine at AASTMT El Alamein, living on the coast — also in Marassi — for the past three years. She’d been staying in Canada and made the move to the North Coast when a family friend who teaches at the university recommended the area.
Her first impressions? Great. “Calm, peaceful, quiet — I really enjoyed it as soon as I moved here,” she tells EnterpriseAM. She credits a tight-knight community of retirees who live on the coast year-round for making the off-season manageable. Most of her medical school peers live in Marassi and nearby compounds, including Porto Golf; others commute daily from Alexandria — which takes “around 90 minutes,” according to Ahmed.
On what’s open off-season, Ahmed’s account differs from Blakeway’s: “Not much,” she says. It took a couple of months for Ahmed to settle in, initially finding it difficult to stock up. She would also frequent Alexandria, as well as Sidi Abdel Rahman and Alamein for her daily needs — which she pointed are “not the best places to go as a woman alone” in the off-season, but notes that security isn’t an issue within the compound.
Healthcare is where Blakeway and Ahmed differ. Where Blakeway described a two-minute wait and a clean suture for her husband’s cut at Marassi’s hospital, Ahmed describes a near catastrophe at the same facility following a car accident. “My eyeball was essentially out of my face — the car flipped over,” she says. “I went to the Marassi Hospital, and there was little they could do.” Ahmed had to be driven to Alexandria instead, where she underwent surgery. “I don’t think anyone would have this extreme case of a big accident during the off-season,” she adds, offering an explanation as to why the facility may have been unprepared.
Getting around requires a car, but ride-hailing has closed part of the gap: Ahmed says InDrive runs through the off-season. E-commerce has also improved — Amazon delivers next-day, down from over a week when she first moved. When asked what’s needed for the North Coast to support year-round living, Ahmed just names proper healthcare and “one or two” restaurants that open year-round. According to the third-year medical student, there’s already a large enough population to support these businesses — including expats working in the Dabaa project.
The common threads
Two women, one community — together they sketch a version of year-round Sahel that’s more livable than its reputation, but less finished than what’s being marketed. Groceries, healthcare, ride-hailing, and government paperwork all exist in some form; whether they’re reliable enough to build a life around still depends heavily on who’s asking (and what it is exactly that they need). Despite commonalities, both women noted starkly different experiences even when discussing the same things. But both prove that life, year-round, is indeed possible on Egypt’s northernmost coasts.
🏖️🏠🍴 Mario Jr. Haddad was born into a Lebanese filmmaking empire — aptly called Empire international, one of the Middle East’s biggest film distributors — but when the time came to immerse himself in the family business, Haddad quickly found himself “disenchanted” by the idea of sitting behind the desk. He was passionate about cinema, yes, but he was more passionate about food — a passion born from trailing his own father, Mario Haddad, in the kitchen as he cooked his favorite pasta dish every single day.
The Lebanese war saw Jr. Haddad move to London with his brother and a nanny. There, he started cooking, inviting his friends over to feast on pastas, paellas, and risottos. He did it every day — and soon mastered the draft. Toward the tailend of the war, he moved to Lebanon and decided, at age 25, to start his own restaurant. What would become Lebanon’s first sushi restaurant was off to a shaky start: the sushi wasn’t all that great, in Haddad’s words, and so he had to pivot: operate on a trial-and-error basis, serve food at no cost for feedback, and invite everyone he could think of for taste tests.
It worked. Haddad eventually corrected course, found himself running a restaurant booked for lunch and dinner weeks in advance, made money back in the first 13 months, and learned a lesson that would shape his entire career to come: that it wasn’t just food that drove Mario Jr. Haddad, it was hosting people and cooking for them.
That is the ethos Jr. Haddad carried over to Egypt’s North Coast whenMariolino Beach Houseset up shop on the sandy coasts of Ramla by Marakez earlier this summer. A hospitality brand built around Mediterranean culture and what Jr. Haddad calls “the art of gathering,” the Beach House would prove itself one of the season’s most talked about — and refreshingly authentic — additions, with 18 boutique rooms, more dining experiences than one can savor in just one stay, and a slew of moments built around community.
EnterpriseAM caught up with Mario Jr. Haddad to talk about all things food, Mariolino, and Sahel. Edited excerpts from our conversation:
EnterpriseAM: You’ve operated Mariolino across different countries and coasts — Lebanon, Turkey, and now Egypt. What’s the one thing you would say makes Mariolino what it is, regardless of where it is on the map?
Mario Jr. Haddad: The concept itself. Mariolino started in Batroun as a place where it was a labor of love. I had moved to Batroun — a little coastal town in the North — from Beirut because of Covid. The country was at a standstill — financial meltdown, Covid, the politics. So, I wanted to open a shack where I just served family style, and I emphasize on the family style because that’s the essence of the brand. Everything is served in large plates. A lot of people tell us, “Your portions are huge,” because that’s how it’s meant to be: it’s a sharing concept. It’s like going to your grandma’s on a Friday and the food is there in the middle and you serve each other, you pass it on.
Wherever we’ve gone, we’ve taken that essence with us, and that is what makes Mariolino Mariolino. We’ve only ever been on the Mediterranean and I think the Mediterranean shares this culture wherever you are.
E: This isn’t your first rodeo in Sahel — what did you learn the first time around?
MjH: I opened Mariolino on the North Coast back in 2021 in Playa by Seashell as a pop-up. I learned a lot from that experience. I used to come to Egypt for the El Gouna Film Festival, spend a week a year, and that’s it. I didn’t know the culture behind how people consumed food here. In Lebanon, we weren’t exposed to Sahel. I opened a restaurant thinking it operates at normal restaurant hours, which for us are 1-3 pm and 7-11 pm. Nobody would show up — I soon realized that lunch here happens after people finish going to the beach, then nobody’s having dinner at 8 pm because they've just had “lunch.” I’d close by 11pm and people would start arriving by 11pm. I learned my lesson.
E: Given your previous experience, what sort of expectations would you say you had when planning to launch Mariolino in Ramla?
MjH: I had aspirations, not expectations. This isn’t a restaurant. When Marakez came to me and said they were planning a boutique hotel in Ramla, a small one by the sea, I was interested but honest with myself: I didn’t know if I had the bandwidth. I’m already stretched. But if I was going to do it, it had to resonate with where I am in life right now — or I wouldn’t give it everything it needs. And in Sahel, if you’re not giving everything, you won’t be seen. There’s too much going on.
So I asked myself what would please me at my core, regardless of whether it flies or not. The answer was hosting — opening my home to like-minded people, cooking for them, entertaining them. That’s how I live anyway. My home is always open; people sleep over, I cook, we party. I wanted to do that on a bigger scale: live in this house, meet new people, have friends come through, watch strangers become friends. That was the aspiration. No expectations. And today, I think we got pretty close to it.
E: You’ve spoken before about your design philosophy: that you didn’t care what Mariolino looked like, only what people felt. What do you want people to feel?
MjH: When we briefed TDF+, the agency that designed the space, I had no visual brief. No “it needs to be blue, with a green wall and Art Deco finishing.” None of that mattered to me. What I wanted people to feel was warmth. I’m a big believer in energy, and energy is created through sound, light, and mood. So those were the things I cared about: how much greenery, the color of the light, whether it’s direct or indirect, the ambiance, the music, the experiences we’d create for guests. What mattered were the spaces themselves — what we’d do with them, and how people would feel while living their lives inside them.
E: Walk me through how you curated the F&B experience, and tell me about the pop-ups and collaborations you’ve had this summer.
MjH: The main restaurant takes a Mediterranean approach. But the food experience at Mariolino goes well beyond that one space. From the moment you wake up, breakfast is served in an open-air kitchen where you do your own thing — cook yourself, ask for help, or find me making eggs. There’s no hotel buffet, no chef waiting at a station. Think of it like going to a friend’s big Sahel house where you’re comfortable enough to raid the fridge.
Beyond the menus, there are experiences. Wednesdays, we do dinners that see 120 people around one table, feet in the sand, seafood coming continuously, freeflowing wine and beer, strangers feasting together. Thursdays are Mario and Friends: guest chefs from everywhere join me in the kitchen, each cooking their own thing in front of guests. We choose chefs who bring soul, not plating precision. Fridays are mine — I cook from six until late, mostly pasta, in a large skillet in front of everyone, à la carte with one communal dish I keep replenishing. On Saturdays we run beach barbecues. Sundays see one communal table, a set menu, nobody knows what’s coming, strangers leave as friends. And when we feel like doing something else, we do it. It’s our home.
E: Has the season been profitable?
MjH: Financially, no. In terms of success, yes. We’ve hit our positioning targets — everybody’s talking about the concept, we’ve carved out the niche we wanted, and we’ve managed to stay away from becoming a party spot, which was our biggest fear going in. There are enough of those in Sahel. We wanted to be about food, experience, and connection. That’s what we became. For the first season, the goal was to position ourselves and learn — and we’ve never done hospitality before. Housekeeping, reservations, room service: all new to me. We’ve taken notes. Next year, we’ll be much better prepared.
E: What would it have taken to break even?
MjH: Two things. The imported alcohol license didn’t come through in time, and that hit us hard — that’s where the numbers come from. Without it, your ticket price drops and your footfall drops. The second thing is that we’re in a compound that’s still largely uninhabited. The people who came to us came specifically for us — making their way out there just for Mariolino. That’s a strong signal, but it’s not a large pool.
We could have thrown parties, generated revenue, and hit better figures in the short term. But it would have cost us the positioning. I wasn’t willing to do that. I’d rather come in under on revenue and land exactly where I wanted to be on the brand.
E: Has Mariolino driven footfall to Ramla while the compound is still largely empty?
MjH: Absolutely. Kudos to Marakez for choosing an operator with no hospitality experience but a clear point of view on elevated experiences — that’s exactly what they wanted. Ramla isn’t chasing the quick buck. They want a specific audience that knows what it wants, and Mariolino has hit that mark for them. I’ve heard from investors who were planning to sell their units and changed their minds after seeing what we built. I’ve heard from people who decided to buy because of the Mariolino experience. That says something.
E: How have you seen Sahel evolve between your first experience in 2021 and this season?
MjH:From what I can see, it’s grown on a party level and it’s more prominent globally. Middle East Airlines now flies direct to El Alamein Airport, which five years ago would have been unthinkable. International operators are all moving here. Each of us has helped put the North Coast on the map for a different audience.
E: What would it take for Sahel to become a truly global destination?
MjH: One very clear thing: the season needs to expand. Right now, Sahel operates in July and August — precisely when all of Europe is on holiday and has a hundred other options. Against Mykonos or Ibiza, you’re at a disadvantage. The beaches are unparalleled, genuinely stunning, but that’s about it. There’s nothing else to do. And it’s expensive — more expensive than Ibiza, comparable to Mykonos, but without the breadth of experience. If you’re a foreigner who doesn’t know anyone here, you’re stranded.
The two-month season is also what drives the prices up. Operators need to cover substantial fixed costs — housing, staff who demand peak-season salaries, suppliers who charge twice as much because everything comes from Cairo. You cannot reduce prices within a two-month window and survive. To make it affordable for an international audience, you need to extend the season.
April through November is entirely viable — the weather is good, I know because I was here during construction in April. A six-month season is coming; with Modon, Ras El Hekma, and everything being developed, it’s inevitable. Once the season extends, prices come down, international visitors come in, investment follows, and the offering elevates. We’re heading there — it’ll just take a few years.
🌳✂️ Your Sahel home can have the fanciest interiors, the dreamiest furniture, and all the right finishing touches, but if the garden looks like an afterthought, the whole vibe takes a hit. While most compounds already have gardeners on hand to keep things green and (mostly) alive, sometimes your outdoor space needs more than a routine trim and a watering schedule.
There are plenty of specialists who can help turn your Sahel garden into a resort-style retreat or simply give your outdoor space a much-needed upgrade. From planting and irrigation to lighting, pergolas, and complete garden makeovers, we’ve rounded up the landscaping experts who can transform your outdoor space.
🏷️PRICES- Pricing for each of the following depends on the scope, requirements, and details of the project. Clients can request a quote after sharing their landscaping needs.
Your planting partners
#1- Merrystem: Merrystem is a landscape and interior works design-and-build company that brings greenery and aesthetics together under one roof. Founded by a team led by landscaper Eric Vachetto, the company handles projects from concept to execution, creating outdoor and interior spaces that prove plants aren’t just decoration — they’re basically architecture’s leafy sidekicks.
SERVICES- Merrystem specializes in landscape and interior works, covering the design and build process for different projects. Their portfolio includes landscape design, interior design solutions, and full execution services.
#2- Natuxi: Natuxi is a landscape design and build company turning outdoor spaces into carefully crafted green escapes. Whether it’s a private garden, commercial project, or a full outdoor makeover, Natuxi handles the journey from first sketch to final leaf, proving that a great garden is less “plant a few flowers and hope for the best” and more a carefully planned masterpiece.
SERVICES- Natuxi offers complete landscape solutions, covering design, construction, and outdoor transformations. Their services include garden design and installation, garden rehabilitation, soil replacement, plant and lawn selection, automated irrigation systems, outdoor lighting, pergolas, decks, sunshades, patios, and ongoing lawn care solutions for businesses.
📍WHERE TO FIND THEM- Natuxi is based in Heliopolis, Cairo. You can contact Natuxi through their website, email them at [email protected], or call them at +201024325611.
#3- Bloom Landscape Solutions: Bloom Landscape Solutions is a landscaping company that takes outdoor spaces from bare patches of land to fully designed environments. Their team handles everything from the first design concept to bringing it to life on the ground — because a dream garden is great, but a dream garden that actually survives Egypt’s weather is even better.
📍SERVICES- Bloom offers end-to-end landscape solutions, including landscape design, execution, maintenance, softscape and hardscape works, and irrigation systems. They focus on creating functional outdoor spaces while managing the full process from planning to implementation and upkeep.
📍WHERE TO FIND THEM- Bloom is based in Sheikh Zayed, Giza, and works on landscape projects across Egypt. You can contact Bloom through their website, email them at [email protected], or call them at +201116510007.
#4- Imaar Landscaping: Imaar Landscaping is a landscaping and contracting company focused on transforming outdoor spaces into carefully designed green escapes. With years of experience in the field, the company handles projects from the first consultation to final installation, turning empty plots and everyday gardens into spaces that feel less like “just landscaping” and more like nature with a blueprint.
SERVICES- Imaar offers landscaping solutions for residential and commercial projects, from design through execution. Their approach focuses on creating sustainable outdoor environments through creative design, installation, and customized landscape solutions.
📍WHERE TO FIND THEM- Imaar is based in New Cairo and takes on residential and commercial landscaping projects. You can contact them through their website, email them at [email protected], or call them at +201000020563.
#5- Sites: Sites International is an award-winning multidisciplinary landscape architecture and urban planning firm bringing together architecture, nature, and engineering under one very well-designed roof. The firm has spent decades creating integrated environments across Egypt, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, including iconic projects like Al-Azhar Park and the Nubian Museum in Aswan.
SERVICES- Sites offers a wide range of design and consultancy services, including master planning, detailed planning, landscape architecture, architecture, structural engineering, site engineering, construction supervision, and project management. Their work focuses on creating sustainable spaces where built environments and natural landscapes blend seamlessly.
📍WHERE TO FIND THEM- Sites International is headquartered in Giza, Egypt, with offices in Egypt and the USA, and takes on projects across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. You can contact Sites International through their website or call them at +20233626311 or +201279998721.
#6- PureScape: PureScape is a landscape architecture and urban planning consultancy bringing together design, nature, and technical expertise to create spaces that actually belong in their surroundings. The company works across local and international markets, handling everything from early planning stages to detailed design, because great landscapes don’t just happen; they’re engineered to look effortless.
SERVICES- PureScape offers a wide range of landscape and urban design services, including urban planning, landscape architecture, architectural design, and full landscape consultancy. Their services cover everything from concept design and master planning to construction documents, including softscape, hardscape, water features, outdoor furniture, lighting design, cost estimation, and tender documents.
📍WHERE TO FIND THEM- PureScape is based in Heliopolis, Cairo. You can contact PureScape through their website or call them at +201221180733.
#7- PAO (planning and architecture office): PAO is a multidisciplinary design firm blending urban planning, architecture, landscape design, and engineering to create spaces built with both people and purpose in mind. Established in 2003, the firm brings together planners, architects, landscape designers, and consultants to tackle projects ranging from city-scale developments to detailed outdoor environments, because designing a better place to live starts long before the first brick is laid.
SERVICES- PAO offers a wide range of consultancy services, including urban planning and design, landscape planning and architecture, hardscape and softscape design, architecture and interior design, project management, construction supervision, and feasibility studies. Their landscape services cover everything from green corridors to site grading and outdoor environment planning.
📍WHERE TO FIND THEM- PAO is based in El Mohandeseen, Giza, and works on projects across Egypt and the Middle East. You can contact PAO through their website, email them at [email protected], or call them at +201064309300.
#8- NASAQ Landscape: NASAQ is a full-service landscape design and build company turning outdoor spaces into functional, living environments. The company approaches landscaping as more than just adding greenery; it’s about shaping spaces where nature, architecture, and everyday life meet. From the first sketch to the final build, NASAQ takes projects from a blank page to a finished landscape that actually makes you want to spend time outside.
SERVICES- NASAQ offers complete landscape solutions, including landscape architecture and design, hardscape and civil works, and softscape and horticulture. Their process covers everything from conceptual sketches and 2D/3D master plans to execution, with plant selection, structural elements, and outdoor space planning all part of the package.
📍WHERE TO FIND THEM- NASAQ is based in Heliopolis, Cairo. You can contact them through their website and submit your project details through their online contact form, email them at [email protected], or call them at +201011488741 or +201016835228.
#9- Alchemy Design Studio: Alchemy Design Studio is an interior and exterior design studio creating spaces where architecture, nature, and personal style meet. The studio focuses on thoughtful, curated designs that are tailored to each project, proving that good design is less about filling a space and more about giving it a personality.
SERVICES-Alchemy Design Studio offers full-service interior design, landscape design, and architectural design through their Alchemy Architecture account. Their landscape designs focus on creating cohesive outdoor spaces that complement the architecture, and enhance the human experience with a sensible vision for culture, environment and technology.
📍WHERE TO FIND THEM- Alchemy Design Studio is based in Maadi, Cairo. You can contact them through email at [email protected], or through their Instagram account.
#10- Turkan Landscape: With more than 15 years of experience in landscaping and agricultural engineering, Turkan Landscape creates outdoor spaces that mix greenery, design, and functionality. From private gardens and villas to larger outdoor projects, the company handles everything from garden concepts to execution, because a beautiful landscape doesn’t grow by accident.
SERVICES- Turkan Landscape offers complete landscaping solutions, including garden design, garden implementation, natural planting, plant selection, plant pots, artificial grass installation, walkways, pergolas, water features such as fountains and waterfalls, outdoor lighting, smart irrigation systems, synthetic wood flooring, and garden maintenance solutions.
📍WHERE TO FIND THEM- Turkan Landscape is based in Nasr City, Cairo, and works on landscaping projects across Egypt. You can contact them through their website, email them at [email protected], or call them at +20227754036 or +201020250949.
#11- Palm Garden Landscaping: Palm Garden Landscaping is a multidisciplinary landscaping firm founded by landscape designer and horticulturalist Khaled Shokry, bringing together garden design, horticulture, and outdoor spaces under one leafy roof. The company has a longstanding focus on creating residential and corporate landscapes that go beyond simply adding a few plants and calling it a day. From initial concepts through to turnkey execution, Palm Garden handles the heavy lifting of turning outdoor spaces into thoughtfully designed environments.
SERVICES- Palm Garden Landscaping specializes in landscape design and execution for residential and corporate projects, covering the process from concept development through to turnkey service. The company combines landscape design and horticultural expertise to create tailored outdoor environments.
📍WHERE TO FIND THEM- Palm Garden Landscaping is based in Giza. You can contact them through their Instagram or Facebook, email them at [email protected], or call them at +201050004124.
#12- Mashtal: Mashtal is Egypt’s first and largest online garden center, making it a one-stop shop for everything from houseplants and garden supplies to full-blown landscaping projects. Founded by Karim Harouny, Mashtal started as a passion project and has since grown into a multifaceted gardening business — because apparently, keeping one or two houseplants alive was only the beginning. Alongside its online catalog, Mashtal’s projects team handles residential and commercial landscaping from design to implementation, while its maintenance arm keeps everything green after the big reveal.
SERVICES- Mashtal offers plants, seeds, planters, garden tools, and gardening supplies, alongside residential and commercial landscaping services covering design and implementation. The company also provides plant and garden maintenance, consultations, and a “plant hotel” service for B2B clients, picking up plants at the end of the Sahel season and returning them when their owners reopen.
📍WHERE TO FIND THEM- Mashtal currently operates online, with their full catalog available through their website. You can also reach the team by email at [email protected] or through their Instagram and Facebook.
South African DJ Shimza is headlining the North Coast’sSurf Clubalongside Kaytek tomorrow, 27 August. Expect soulful energy and exciting rhythms. The show kicks off at 10pm and doors close at 1am. You can get tickets on Collard.
Egyptian pop icon Ehab Tawfik is bringing a dose of ‘90s nostalgia to the North Coast. The singer will take the stage at Premiere Show at North Coast Square, Porto Golf, on Friday, 28 August, for a late-night trip down memory lane packed with the unmistakable sounds many of us grew up listening to. The concert begins at 11:30pm — tickets are available through TicketsMarché.
Another electronic music awaits with popular Bosnian-German DJ Solomun as he returns to the North Coast to perform at D-Bay on Saturday, 29 August. Expect an energy-filled summer night of his techno beats. You can secure your tickets here.
As Sahel season comes to an end, Almaza Bay’s Pier88 is hosting one last techno-fueled night tomorrow, 27 August. Afro-house DJ collective &friends returns to the North Coast alongside local emerging talents Samaha and Shaarany for a night packed with energy and a few surprises. The party kicks off at 3pm and runs late into the night — you can book tickets here.
Pop mainstay Hamaki is making his way to the North Coast this Friday, 28 August, taking the stage at Porto Grande in New Alamein for a big season-ending night. Gates open at 7pm, with the concert kicking off at 10:30pm — hurry and book your tickets through TicketsMarché before they sell out.
Ramy Sabry is also taking the stage on 28 August as the summer-long Tiatro Romano festival continues at Marina 2. The night kicks off at 10pm, with tickets available on TicketsMarché.
SEPTEMBER
Up for making a stop in Alex on the drive back? Alexandria Stadium is kickstarting the Blue Orbit festival on Friday, 4 September, with popular rappers Abyusif and Shehab taking the stage for an energetic night. Gates open at 5pm, with the show starting at 8pm — tickets are available through 101 Creations’ website.
Pop diva Haifa Wehbe is making a special Sahel appearance, performing at Kiki’s Beach Bar on Friday, 18 September. Joining the star is DJ Kareem Saber for a night of hits and Haifa’s signature energy. The night kicks off at 9pm and runs until late — you can make reservations through Kiki’s website.
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