CAIRO - Workers preparing sweets for Eid al-Fitr, the feast that follows the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, in Cairo. Egyptian families use the occasion to celebrate the feast, which traditionally involves elaborate banquets of food as well as eating huge amounts of seasonal cookies known as kahk el-eid, which dates back to the times of the Ekhshidis, who ruled Egypt from 935 to 969AD. But this year's eid, which is expected to begin on Tuesday depending on sighting the new moon, these mouth-watering delicacies may disappear from many Egyptian households for the first time since the times of the Ekhshidis due to high prices of flour and the high cost of ingredients that are used to make kahk, including butter, sugar, Turkish delight, chocolate powder, dry fruits, food colours, nuts and date paste. The high prices of these materials have deterred many bakery owners from making kahk this eid as one tonne of flour has soared to LE5,000 after it was sold for LE2,100.