But The
Hijazis, Poor And Rich, Always Prefer These Tulip Tints.
The proper
Badan, or long coat without sleeves, still worn in truly Arab
countries, is here confined to the lowest classes.
That ugliest of
head-dresses, the red Tunisian cap, called “Tarbush,[FN#26]” is much used,
only the Arabs have too much regard for their eyes and faces to wear
it, as the Turks do, without a turband. It is with regret that one sees
the most graceful head-gear imaginable, the Kufiyah and the Aakal,
proscribed except amongst the Sharifs and the Badawin. The women dress,
like the men, handsomely. Indoors they wear, I am told, a Sudayriyah,
or boddice of calico and other stuffs, like the Choli of India, which
supports the bosom without the evils of European stays. Over this is a
Saub, or white shirt, of the white stuff called Halaili or Burunjuk,
with enormous sleeves, and flowing down to the feet; the Sarwal or
pantaloons are not wide, like the Egyptians’, but rather tight,
approaching to the Indian cut, without its exaggeration.[FN#27] Abroad,
they throw over the head a silk or a cotton Milayah, generally
chequered white and blue. The Burka (face-veil), all over Al-Hijaz is
white, a decided improvement in point of cleanliness upon that of
Egypt. Women of all ranks die the soles of the feet and the palms of
the hands black; and trace thin lines down the inside of the
[p.16]fingers, by first applying a plaster of henna and then a mixture,
called “Shadar,” of gall-nuts, alum, and lime.
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