To give prostitution an Islamic cover, some women enter into secret marriage contracts with their summer visitors. Known in Egypt as zawag al-'urfi, this contract is made without witnesses and typically ends in divorce by summer's end. Most of Egypt's Islamic scholars condemn this use of zawag al-'urfi. In addition to their summer trysts, some Gulf men also come to Egypt to look for wives, especially in villages around the Delta town of Mansura, where, according to local folklore, Napoleon's soldiers began mixing with the local population on their short Egyptian expedition nearly two centuries ago. This reputation has attracted enough attention on the other side of the Red Sea that informal marriage agencies servicing Gulf men have begun to appear.
Some older women make their living as marriage brokers.
Upon request, agents present photos of women from the villages. Once the deal is done, the bride and her new husband quickly make their way back to the Gulf, often the next day. In the province of Giza, adjacent to Cairo, other villages are also known for marrying their daughters to Gulf Arabs. Proverbs like this make their way to the Arabian Peninsula. Marrying a daughter to someone from the Gulf looks like good business for impoverished farmers living around Mansura or Hawamdiyya.