Hajj has days of information and scenes that the pilgrims do not lose sight of, from the first moment in making the decision and then seeking to obtain the Hajj visa, and the joy at every step the pilgrim and his family take in preparation for the day of Ihram, that joy that begins with the purchase of the Ihram dress.

In Egypt, no one asks about the places where Ihram clothes are sold for men and women. Everyone knows its place for 200 years. There is in Al-Tarba’a, the place adjacent to the Al-Hussein Mosque and facing the Al-Azhar Mosque, in a place that has not changed its name or specialty over time and remains “Auf Al-Aseel”.

Buying Hajj clothes is a great joy for pilgrims, the clothes closest to the soul, that white robe that everyone wears in a magical moment that is not often repeated once or twice in a lifetime for many.

The workers of the original Auf shop lived that moment thousands of times, for generations, the shriek of women, the joy of children, the tears of men, and prostration, thanks to God for granting them the blessing of visiting the Sacred House of God and performing the obligatory prayer.

200 years ago, Auf was present and witness to the Ihram of the kings of the Hijaz, the sheikhs, and their eminence was Sheikh Muhammad Metwally Al-Shaarawy, and among the artists were Shadia, Laila Murad and Tahia Karioka, and the most famous among football players, Muhammad Abu Trika, and every time the joy was one that did not differentiate between these and a man who came out The House of God is fulfilled without knowing how the way was made possible for him to do so.

Hajj Ahmed Auf tells Al Jazeera Net about his grandfather Auf, the owner of cotton factories in Mahalla al-Kubra, who founded the Auf Agency in Al-Azhar district in Cairo. The great-grandfather was the owner of the first store specialized in Ihram clothes and legal shrouds made of pure Egyptian cotton.

At that time, Awf was the only destination for visitors to the Sacred House of God, and the Egyptian bearer - who used to go out annually to carry the covering of the Kaaba to the House of God - passed in front of him. An Egyptian farmer called by God to his sacred home.

Preparing to receive the months of Hajj begins in Auf stores since the end of Ramadan (Al-Jazeera)

Preparation in Auf stores to receive the months of Hajj begins at the end of Ramadan, and the Ihram dress is available throughout the year for pilgrims. Egypt.

Young Karim, who has been working in Auf's shop for 15 years, says that foreign and Arab visitors flock to the shop almost daily during the Hajj season, to buy the guaranteed Ihram dress of Egyptian cotton.

The Ihram robes vary in terms of shape only and the weight of the material, but they are all purely cotton, as Karim tells Al Jazeera Net, "The man has one Ihram that consists of a loincloth and a robe, and there are two types of it, one of which is normal with laces, and the other is the most modern "with two snaps", but the two types are not sewn, As for women’s ihram, they are white cloaks, pants, white shirts, and white veils, all of which are pure cotton, and some of them are embroidered.

Ihram robes are available throughout the year for pilgrims (Al-Jazeera)

The prices of Ihram clothes ranged between 1,000 and 1,500 pounds (a dollar equals approximately 18.8 pounds) for men. A man often buys one set of Ihram clothes, while a woman may buy two thousand pounds, and the total of what she buys for Ihram clothes only may be about 10,000 pounds.

And with the Ihram robes are added white leather belts with wallets for money and passports, as well as white open shoes that fit the hardships of the quest and the roads, and the “sunshades” and the small bags are all white, so that the pilgrim begins a pure life that is free from all his sins and burdens, and Auf will continue for other generations as a sign of the days counts.