Egyptian Clothing
For many people Egyptian clothing has not changed much over the centuries. Sure it is
easy to see the evidence of modern commercialism, and the people happily embrace such things as television,
jeans and modern music. But the day to day clothes remain pretty much the same as they have always been.
For men, women and children the basic Egyptian clothing is a full length tunic - often white or light coloured for
men and usually black or dark coloured for women - usually plain for men and often decorated for women.
The most common footwear is leather sandals, and for headwear men often wear a turban or cap - and, suprisingly
for many westerners, wearing the veil is optional for women.
Clothing is socially important, particularly for women; shorts are acceptable only in private resorts or
along the Aqaba coast; and everybody should wear shirts that fully cover the shoulders. Unfortunately, while on
an Egypt tour, some people ignore conventions such as these, unaware how it demeans them in the eyes of the
local people. If some Egyptians treat tourists with contempt, probably it is partly to do with the way the
tourists dress.
Although Egypt is famous for belly-dancing, the locals generally do not regard this pursuit as respectable.
Often the performers at tourist venues such as Nile cruise ships are in fact not Egyptian, because it's
considered improper for Arab women to behave provocatively in public.
That being as it may, this reciepient of a belly dancer's attention does not appear to be Egyptian and thus
seems less constrained by any negative local attitudes to these performers.
However at family gatherings and private parties often belly-dancing can be part of the fun.
Revised: 8th October 2004
©2004
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