Male students wearing the distinctive red and white Al-Azhar cap (Taqiya) sit at traditional wooden school desks inside a basic classroom at an Azhari school in Qena, Upper Egypt. Al-Azhar schools are part of Egypt's Islamic educational system overseen by Al-Azhar institution, one of the oldest centers of Islamic learning in the world, providing religious and academic education from primary through university level. The classroom setting reflects the typical environment of public Azhari schools in rural Upper Egypt, with simple green-painted walls and natural light from side windows.