Rep Your Cairene District with Madani's T-Shirts

When thinking about our neighbourhoods, many of us know very little about their histories – save for that one mini-supermarket (ba2al) that’s been operating since the dawn of time, or the school blasting music at 7AM that you secretly wish would relocate. But even if we don't know everything, we still have that sense of belonging, that this is OUR part of town. With that sentiment at heart, 17-year-old high school student Samy Bishay launched a new t-shirt brand 'Madani' to get us to rep our neighbourhoods in style.

Madani's collection of t-shirts feature maps that Bishay drew by hand, displaying districts like Maadi, Zamalek and Heliopolis, each of which is accompanied with a QR Code. When you scan the code, it will take you to a corresponding page on the ‘Madani’ website which lets you in on the facts and history of their respective district!

“In my circle of friends, I’m definitely the most curious. I’m always asking questions and learning things just for the fun of it,” Bishay tells #CairoScene. “Through these t-shirts, I really hope that people can get to know more about their districts, and that the facts I present on the website strike a chord with them to push them to dig deeper and learn more.”

The idea came to Bishay during lockdown, when he knew he wanted to incorporate QR Code technology in his products. In true Gen-Z fashion, the inspiration for Madani sparked from a Twitter trend, ranking different districts around Cairo.

In the future, Bishay looks to include El Gouna, Sharm El-Sheikh, Alexandria, and other major cities in other Arab countries. The t-shirts are now available on madanicairo.com.