A green oasis in central Cairo

Set on an island in the middle of the Nile, Egypt’s oldest golf course is a green oasis right in the heart of Cairo. The Gezira  Sporting Club was established by the British 125 years ago on 150 acres of botanical gardens on Zamalek Island previously established for ruler Khedive Ismail. Originally the golf course was an 18-hole layout inside a horse-racing track alongside polo fields, and the Gezira Sporting Club was the focal point for Cairo’s high society for 70 years. When land was needed for other facilities in the 1960s, the course was reduced to nine holes, but played as 18 holes with double greens and tees.