El Karnak Bazar, Cairo

What to buy here: Cotton Robes and Vail “Jilbab & Burqa”.

Burqa with Yashmak is an authentic Egyptian heritage known for ages. During the last decades it started to vanish as a result of the Egyptian's exposure to the rest of the world, rising employment of women, and its difficulty in wearing. Before, Egyptian women had to wear this cotton veil with colored rollers to cover the hair, with a short Burqa covering the lower part of the face with open slots for easy breathing and showing the beauty behind. Added to this was a golden jewelry piece right above the nose and mouth as a symbol of wealth, called Yashmak.

It is not worn in the city anymore, although in some remote areas of Egypt it is still relatively used, especially by desert Beduins. Burqa's availability for purchase is rare in the city, but it can easily be found in some stores in Cairo’s oldest markets, like “El-Khan” in different variations, decorations, and colors. Prices range from 15 L.E. to 80 L.E.

When it comes to men, there were many different types of clothing to be worn depending on location: from fishermen pants in the North to white Nubian Jilbab.

Most dominant clothing was and still is the regular Jilbab and Abaya (Galabeya) as it is pronounced in Egypt. This long loose cotton garment, with no collar and long wide sleeves, is the icon of comfort and coziness amongst most of the Egyptian farmers and Beduin men. Women's version would be more tight, mostly with a collar, and decorated with bright colors and coins. A regular Jilbab costs about a hundred pound and is easily found in many places around Cairo.