Cairo, Egypt - Recent (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of lantern shoppers in market
2. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Aya Ahraf, resident (starting with shot 1/partially overlaid with shots 3-4):
"I'm here with my sister and cousin to buy home decorations for Ramadan, such as lanterns. When we were children our parents used to buy us lanterns every year and this tradition remains with us, we buy lanterns for ourselves and our children. Without lanterns there's no Ramadan."
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3. Interior of lantern market
4. Lanterns for sale
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5. Lantern market
6. Various of lanterns for sale
7. Customer shopping for lantern
8. Lantern for sale
9. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Tamer Abu Ashraf, toy shop owner (partially overlaid with shots 10-11):
"We have lanterns for all ages and at different prices to make children happy. This season we have the Egyptian hand-made wooden lanterns, they're classic and cheap. I have expensive ones, but the reason why we have the Egyptian hand-made wooden lanterns is that it's cheap and everyone can afford them."
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10. Egyptian hand-made wooden lanterns for sale
11. Lanterns for sale
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12. Various of doll lanterns for sale
13. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Tamer Abu Ashraf, toy shop owner (starting with shot 12):
"The doll lantern is the most popular this year. It's a new lantern that is made in Egypt."
14. Various of lantern shoppers
15. Various of dessert for sale
16. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Yousef Ahmed, branch manager, Despacito Sweets Shop (ending with shot 18):
"This year we have new items that includes the new international trend - the Dubai chocolates. It's a very popular topic. So, we created the Dubai chocolate Kunafa this year. We hope that this year's new items will meet the clients' requirements and they will like them."
17. Dessert for sale
18. Sweet shop assistant placing dessert on plate
19. Various of dessert for sale

Egyptians are flocking to markets to shop for lanterns, dessert, and other traditional items for Ramadan, a Muslim holy month that started Friday this year.

Lasting until March 30, the Ramadan typically sees special traditions observed across Egypt, and buying Ramadan lanterns is a centuries-old Egyptian tradition and a source of joy for adults and children alike. The large lanterns are used for decorating streets and the front doors and corridors of coffee shops, restaurants and hotels, while small ones are used as toys for children.

A colorful lantern market in the capital city of Cairo receives inflows of shoppers, who intend to buy their families exquisite decorations for the holy month.

"I'm here with my sister and cousin to buy home decorations for Ramadan, such as lanterns. When we were children our parents used to buy us lanterns every year and this tradition remains with us, we buy lanterns for ourselves and our children. Without lanterns there's no Ramadan," said Aya Ahraf, a local resident.

As one of the major decorations for Ramadan, lanterns sold on the market are powered by electricity or battery and they are also in a wide variety of shapes and colors.

Sellers said this year the traditional hand-made wooden lanterns are the most welcomed and they also noticed new tastes for emerging lantern varieties.

"We have lanterns for all ages and at different prices to make children happy. This season we have the Egyptian hand-made wooden lanterns, they're classic and cheap. I have expensive ones, but the reason why we have the Egyptian hand-made wooden lanterns is that it's cheap and everyone can afford them," said Tamer Abu Ashraf, a toy shop owner.

"The doll lantern is the most popular this year. It's a new lantern that is made in Egypt," he added.

During Ramadan Muslims fast from dawn and break their fast at sunset every day and oriental sweets are usually top sellers during this period.

This year, the delicious Kunafa, a crispy golden-brown dough made with thin vermicelli noodles, sweet cheese and creamy filling, became the favorite sweet among shoppers, said Yousef Ahmed, a branch manager at Despacito Sweets Shop.

"This year we have new items that includes the new international trend - the Dubai chocolates. It's a very popular topic. So, we created the Dubai chocolate Kunafa this year. We hope that this year's new items will meet the clients' requirements and they will like them," he said.