ANALOGY AND COMPARATIVE STUDY OF  EARLY ANATOLIAN CLOTHING STYLE AND THE LEVANT STYLE OF CLOTHING AND GARMENTS

Photo: Typical  Syrian village women’s dresses, favorite of  the Bedouin women and nomadic tribes. Syrian clothing style did not mean a thing to the Armenian women, nor it did influence Armenian dress-making. Kurdish women who lived in Christian Armenian areas did wear these dresses. These dresses were also worn by Muslim women living in Muslim areas in Lebanon such as Saida, Sour, Tripoli, Beirut, Bekaa, Baalbeck, etc.

The Quran and the Hadith Sharif (The sayings of the Prophet Muhammad) had a primordial influence on the clothing style and dress code of all Muslims from the beginning of Islam. For instance: The Quran instructs Muslim men and women to be modest. Now, this word “Modest” created a controversy among Ulemas and Imams, for some of the Cheiks and Mullah considered “Modest” as a Hijab, meaning veil for Muslim women. Others, thought that “Modest” means covering the head, not the face of the faithful Muslims without discerning between men and women. Quite a religious jurisprudence! Ironically enough, early Islam never imposed veil on Muslim women. Veil was the creation of Muslim Persians and Muslim Turks. And the Arabs followed suit. However, upon entering a Masjad or a Jameh meaning a mosque, a Muslim woman must  cover her head. The same dress code/covering the head was dictated by the Christian church from the very beginning of Christianity.  In addition, in a Hadith Sharif (Dialog and Recorded Sayings of Prophet Mohammad), The Prophet instructed Muslim men and women  not to show off their wealth and not to wear jewelry or attract the others to their wealth. The Quran adds: Muslims should never wear silk and bright colors. Also, the Prophet told his followers that clothing must cover the entire body (men and women), except the face and the hands.

Photo: In the background  of this mosque,  we see separated from men, Persian women with some kind of a face covering but not exactly a veil. This miniature is extraordinary, because it confirmed the fact that the Prophet Mohammad never imposed the veil on Muslim women. At the early age of Islam, Muslim women did not have to cover their faces with veil. Shiraz, Iran, 1330 .

 

 

 

Photo: Young Turkish girl  wearing a hat decorated with coins. This style was copied and completed adopted by Gypsies, Arab Bedouin women, Nawar women (Nouriyeh: Nomadic tribes), Kurdish women, Syrian women but never by Christian Armenian women or Christian Lebanese women.

 

WOMEN COVERING THEIR FACES WITH A VEIL LONG TIME BEFORE ISLAM ENTERED CHRISTIAN COUNTRIES

Photos below, from L to R: #1.Egyptian Muslim woman from Cairo. Drawing: Vecellio, 16^th century. This Egyptian woman is wearing an outdoor dress with all its regalia from head to toe.  The veil covers her head and extends to the ankles. Extreme Muslim women’s clothing style never had any impact on Christian Armenian clothing style. On the contrary, it was considered by Armenian women to be very offensive.  #2. Syrian Muslim woman from Syria. Drawing: Vecellio, 16^th  century. She is wearing an outdoor dress. Notice the long veil that covers half of her face and extends all the way to her ankles. The material of the dresses of the Syrian women was much more refined and of a better quality than the material used for dress-making in Egypt. For many years, Armenians supplied Egypt and particularly Christian Coptic Egypt with silk, wool and golden threads but never with cotton. It is obvious, because Egypt was one of the world largest cotton exporters. At that time in history, Syria was considered as a one of the major Harir (silk) producer in the Near and the Middle East. Syria was one of those countries which had a vital trade business and textile commerce with Armenia. #3. North African woman, from Maghreb (Morocco) in the 16^th  century. This Moroccan woman is wearing  a long off white tunic known as  Maghribi traditional Haik. Notice the influence of Greco-Roman couture style. She is not wearing a veil. Her face is uncovered, possibly because this dress could be an indoor garment. Even though, the couture style is very Hellenic, this fashion was never followed by Armenian women. #4. The Conversion of the Moors. Sculpture at  the Cathedral of Granada, Spain, circa 15^th century-16^th century. Women wearing outdoor clothing and ankle boots. Their faces are covered with a very long veil reaching the proximity of their ankles.