Male Headwear
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Although Islam enjoins both men and women to cover their hair, people of all religions do so throughout the region. The style of head covering gives a lot of information about the wearer's location - in both time and space, their status,
and their religion (for instance Muslim men's headwear should enable their forehead to touch the ground during salat (prayers) ).
The common basic building blocks for male head dress are:
In some cases the wearer will have a skullcap, then a fez and then either a turban or draped headscarf. Sometimes the wearer will only have one or two although the fez as standalone headwear is only historical. The kufiya - as ghoutra and `iqal - is associated with Arabs and Bedouins. Turbans are common in North Africa - the Maghrib and Egypt, among the leaders in Iran, and in countries further east.  Skullcaps  Fez, Turkey 1938  Egyptian rural turban Egypt 1967  Bedouins wearing kufiya - ghoutra & `iqal. 1923 |
Taqiyah (Skullcap) Skullcaps It also worn under many styles of turban and was traditionally worn under the tarbush or fez. Women sometimes also wear skullcaps under their head dress and it also forms part of the Afghan burqa. Anawalt, Weir |
Fez or TarbushA fez is a brimless felted hat known names after the city Fez in Morocco often worn over a skullcap. Also known as a "tarbush" (also spelt "tarboosh" or "tarbouche"), checheya and phecy. The original Maghrib version tends to be soft and rounded. The Turkish version is harder with straighter sides and often red in colour and with a tassel. In Palestine these two versions were known as "tarbush maghribi" and "tarbush istambuli". With the former historically associated with villagers and the latter with urban men of influence.In Turkey it was a part of the formal dress of all men - regardless of their religion from the early 1800s. But it was banned in 1926 by Ataturk as part of the Westernization following the creation of the Turkish Republic. Egypt adopted the tarbush in the 1820s - making it part of the military uniform and becoming a major manufacturer. It was banned in 1952 after Egyptian revolution as a symbol of independence from Ottoman influences. Weir, Raafat  Boy wearing fez Algeria, 1928  Tarbush maker Egypt 1926  Tarbushes and shishas Egypt 1926  Turban wound over tarbush Egypt |
Turban (dulband, 'imma, laffeh, masar or sarik)Turbans are wound lengths of fabric (shaal). This can be anything from 2m-16m! Turbans can be wound over a taqiyah or over a taqiyah and tarbush. In the latter case the tarbush is often visible and the tassel hangs free. In Yemen the cap under the turban is known as a "kalansuwa"Turbans are common in North Africa - the Maghrib and Egypt, Oman, among the leaders in Iran, and in countries further east. Turbans were commonly worn in the Levant but were dropped in Palestine and replaced by the kufiya as a symbol of Nationalism in the 1930s. The Kurdish turban is sometimes called a "fly whisk turban" due to its tassels. Kennet, Keohane, Weir, Sanders, Anawalt  Turkey 18th century  Highlander Yemen 1964  Upperclass Yemen 1964  Fly whisk Iran 1960  Tuareg Maghrib 1958  Cairo, Egypt  Palestine 1926 |
KufiyaA style of headwear which is made up of a square of fabric folded into a triangle and worn with one point on each shoulder and one down the back. It is held in place with a circlet originally made of camel hair - the `iqal. The square of fabric is known as a ghoutra. A taqiyah is often worn under the ghoutra.The kufiya is associated with Arabs and Bedouins. It is not worn by Egyptians or Omanis who each prefer a differing wrapped turban style of headdress. The Palestinians adopted the kufiya in the 1930s. In 1967 this was further narrowed to a black and white checked kufiya like Arafat wore. Traditionally Jordon's kufiya is red and white checked, Iraq's has a dense black weave, while Saudi Arabia and Kuwait favour white. Anawalt , Kennet, Keohane, Weir  Arab 1938  Palestine 1938  Jordon  Arafat |
OtherThere are a number of other styles of headdress which are less common. In the Maghrib Berbers often use the hood of their djellabia or burnous. The Druze have their own styles of headwear. And the Kurds in Iran have the distinctive qashqai felt hat. In the rural south of the Arabian Peninsula both men and women wear conical straw hats.Parker, Weir, Anawalt, Kennet  Hood Morocco 1935  Druze Israel  Kurd Iran 1950 |
Other general types of clothing:
unmodified lengths cloaks sleeveless tunics skirts men's headwear women's headwear
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