In cooperation with Poco.lit, my illustration accompanies this essay by Yassien Aglan. The Egyptian women´s dress, named melaya, serves as an example of how cultural objects cannot be fully “translated” into other languages or contexts without losing layers of meaning. Its history, symbolism, and local nuances resist complete transfer, showing that cultural exchange always involves gaps and distortions. It illustrates the essay’s broader theme that when ideas travel, they inevitably leave parts of themselves behind.