What to wear is one of the most common questions I’ve gotten about the trip, especially from my female friends. Unlike some countries in the Middle East, there are no laws governing what is considered appropriate clothing. If you want to wear tank tops and shorts, you absolutely can, and I saw people doing so. That said, I wouldn’t recommend it, for a few reasons. Egyptians wear mostly long sleeves and long pants/skirts not just from cultural modesty, but also because it’s a damn good way to keep the sun and dust off you. In general, I typically recommend dressing the way locals do whenever you visit a place, as they generally do so for good reason, it helps you blend in a bit better, and it shows a certain kind of cultural respect.
If you want to get a decent idea of what local Egyptians wear, here are a few of my shots from the streets of Cairo and Alexandria, Egypt’s two largest cities:
There are kind of three main routes you can go with your clothing: wearing what you do at home, wearing travel/technical/outdoors clothing, and wearing all natural fibers. As I mentioned above, you can certainly wear what you wear at home, but I personally would recommend one of the other two routes – conveniently for perspective, Richard and I each did one of the latter two.
I wore almost entirely technical/travel clothes. These are generally clothes you find at places like REI that are designed to be water/stain/wrinkle resistant, moisture-wicking, quick drying, and often have some useful features like zippers on the pockets. I found that I was very comfortable, and the fact that they’re designed to shed dirt/grime/etc was really useful when climbing through pyramid shafts or sitting down on a dusty, sandy stone ledge. I found that these fabrics also made it easier to wash my clothes in the bathtub and get them to dry quickly without looking like I’d spent 10 minutes stomping on them in a bucket of water (which I had). I also brought one linen shirt, and I found it was just as good at keeping me cool as my technical fabric shirts, though it didn’t do as well with handwashing/drying. You can see what I packed in this post: Egypt – The Final Packing List
Richard wore entirely natural fibers – he brought 3 pairs of cotton khakis and 6 linen shirts. He really appreciated linen’s ability to remain cool and to wick away sweat, and his cotton pants held up well to the occasional abrasion. His clothing choice has the advantage of looking slightly less traveler-ish and also slightly more upscale, which can be handy for going out to meals, etc. The only downside is that they’re a bit harder to wash in a sink or bathtub, so we ended up making use of the hotel’s laundry service for him mid-way through the trip.
There are a few things that we both wore that I can absolutely recommend: hats and neckerchiefs. The Egyptian sun is no joke, and even with brimmed hats, both Richard and I came back with a good bit of sun on our face, mainly from it reflecting back up off the sand. I can’t even imagine what it would’ve been like without it. The sun is also incredibly bright – so much so that down in Luxor, having my eyes open without sunglasses on made my eyes tear up. Hats are definitely a must, and though Richard was initially hesitant about getting one for the trip, he later said that it was his best purchase.
Neckerchiefs can serve two purposes: not only do they help keep the sun off your neck, especially if you’re not wearing a collared shirt, but you can also get ones, like those we’re wearing in the shots below, that have a gel that when soaked in water for a few minutes, remains cool all day long. I found that it made a massive difference in my comfort level, especially in some of the hot, stuffy tombs we crawled into. I highly recommend the ones from this company: Kafka’s Kool Ties
For women, I will say that about 70-80% of women in Egypt cover their heads at all times, either with a hijab or a hat of some sort. It’s entirely optional for tourists (though some mosques will require you to cover your head for entry), but from a standpoint of trying to fit in and show a degree of cultural respect, I’d honestly err on the side of wearing something on my head if I were a woman traveling in Egypt, along with keeping my arms and legs covered (which is, again, also just a good idea because of the sun). In tourist-heavy sites, this isn’t as much of an issue, and in the hotel anything is fine.
Footwear is another thing to consider when traveling in Egypt: I brought one pair of leather oxford-style, sturdy sneakers from Keen, and a pair of what I’ll call “hiking sandals” from Keen – closed toed, leather sandals with a decent grip on the sole. I ended up never once wearing my shoes, and stuck to sandals the entire way. Richard brought a pair of normal sneakers and a pair of similar sandals to my own, and ended up switching to the sandals mid-way through the trip. Egypt is hot, sandy, and dusty, and if you wear closed shoes, you’re going to end up with lots of grit in them, which doesn’t really happen with sandals (well, it does, but you can more easily shake it out without removing your shoes). You will be expected to either remove your shoes while visiting mosques, or to put little booties on over your shoes – I opted just to remove mine, as the stone inside feels nice and cool on your feet.
Ultimately, when traveling, you should always pack what works best for you, what makes you comfortable, and what suits the trip best. That said, I hope that you all find at least some of what I’ve written here to be useful.