clothing to wear in Egypt

Re: clothing to wear in Egypt

Hello Sharon,

I wore jeans & slacks when I was in Egypt. They were loose but not genie pants. I also took some knee length shorts, however I felt quite uncomfortable wearing them in Egypt. I did see other women wearing rather short shorts & revealing tops, but this tends to attact the wrong type of attention.

Loose fitting shirts or tshirts, no plunging necklines & shoulders covered is the general rule.

I hope you enjoy your holiday. Wish I could be there with you [img]http://www.imaginative-traveller.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

Re: clothing to wear in Egypt

I think a lot depends on where you are in Egypt and when you're going. Whenever I've been to Luxor it's been the height of summer (ie. boiling!) so wearing jeans, loose trousers or even a long skirt to a place like the Valley of the Kings isn't really an option unless you're very, very good with searing heat (I'm not - the first time I was visiting Thebes I wore a long skirt and short sleeved t-shirt and nearly passed out it was so hot, despite drinking about 2 litres of water)! Modest shorts and a t-shirt were ok and a lot more comfortable. Due to the extreme heat I wore shoulderless tops a couple of times without realising it might be offensive and never felt uncomfortable whilst in the desert areas (although I did feel uncomfortable that I might have offended someone when I read later that shoulders really should be covered, so I haven't done it since) So a good idea in that kind of heat is to take a light cotton scarf to throw round your shoulders if you do choose to wear something lighter and cooler (also it comes in handy to cover your head when it gets too hot).

When it comes to walking around the town, definitely cover up - although you'll get attention whatever you wear you're doing yourself a favour if it's more rather than less, not to mention it's always best to respect local custom! Also, if you really want to avoid too much attention, wearing a pair of sunglasses and looking directly ahead does wonders! Bear in mind though that chatting to the locals (especially if you've learnt a bit of Arabic) will probably be one of the high points of your trip - they are fantastic. Have a great trip!

Re: clothing to wear in Egypt

When I was in Egypt I wore jeans while in Cairo. However, I did wear modest shorts in the smaller towns (Luxor, Aswan, Edfu) while I was with my tour group touring the sites. Most of the others did too. If I had been on my own I would not have done so.