History:
The story of this significant neighborhood dates back to 1904 when a railway track was built connecting Cairo to Helwan a suburb, particularly when the Mosseri cousins bought wide stretches of land on both sides of the track and resold them to Egyptian Delta Land and Investment Company (EDLCO).

Maadi was planned in 1905 by an English-Canadian retired officer captain Alexander J. Adams in aradial pattern around the railway station. Maadi steadily grew into a wonderful town; well planned and organized it was a home for artists, literati and the high social class as well as a collection of foreign nationalities.
Maadi flourished by the inauguration of the sporting club (Maadi sporting club), its first bank (Bank of Alexandria ex-Barclays), its first gas station (Mobil) and a number of other services including committees' churches and mosques.

Construction in Maadi had certain rules and regulations that had to be followed (specified colors for shutters, ratio of garden to building per plot, width of sidewalk etc…) all in continuous harmony to produce the "paradise of Cairo".

The town was divided into several parts; the two railway tracks and the canal played a big part in this due to their vertical intersection. The residential area grew within the tracks and just outside towards the Nile while outside the tracks a barracks was constructed by Khedive Ismail as well as a military camp holding 76,000 officers.

Maadi had a commercial strip situated on road 9 parallel to one of the railway tracks, no stores were to be opened anywhere else except on the west side of that particular street.

Maadi today: Like an old woman with faint features of beauty upon her face Maadi managed to keep some of its old magic and is still regarded as one of Cairo's most attractive and prestigious neighborhoods.

Maadi has evolved into a small city-like place unable to maintain its isolation from what is around it.

Maadi gained some of the characteristics of the great city of Cairo. High rise buildings and traffic have recently appeared, fast food chains, supermarkets, department stores… everything. Opinions are divided concerning this fast and overwhelming change, some say that it is normal and is a form of development equal to that of the country and on a greater scale the world. The other opinion says that a place with the significance of Maadi should be preserved and its unique style and beauty saved throughout the generations.