A craftsman wearing a traditional Egyptian gallabiya (jilbāb) sits cross-legged on a patterned floor mat and hand-stitches a white cotton mattress (martaba) inside a small workshop in Esna, Luxor Governorate. Raw cotton stuffing and colorful patterned fabrics are visible in the background, reflecting the active traditional upholstery trade common in Upper Egyptian market towns. Cotton mattress making is a longstanding Egyptian craft, practiced in local workshops and street-front shops across Upper Egypt.