Male students wearing the traditional Al-Azhar uniform — white galabiya (gown) and red-and-white taqiyah (religious cap) — climb the interior staircase at Al-Sudais Al-Azhari Institute in Qena, Upper Egypt. Al-Azhar institutes are part of Egypt's oldest religious education network, affiliated with Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, providing Quranic and Islamic studies alongside the national curriculum. This scene documents everyday school life within the Azhari religious education system in Upper Egypt.