T is for...Traditional Wear

Men: The men's traditional clothing is known as the kandora, which looks kind of like a robe...or a man-dress. I've seen white, dark blue, tan, and black kandoras, but most of the men wear white. Now, I must say, I've never thought I'd find any man in a "dress" attractive, but I've seen some attractive men in kandoras here. Along with the kandora is the traditional headdress, keffiyeh. I've seen red/white as well as white with a black chord around it.

Yes, my dears. This is Snoop Dogg in a kandora. He came here to perform last May.

Women: Women wear abayas. Abaya means "black dress" which is exactly what it is. Sure, the abayas would have fancy decorations on it, but the dress itself is black. The headdress for women is called a shayla. Some women cover only their hair, while others cover all their face except the eyes. Still, others cover the entire face. I own three abayas: two that open in the front and one that I'd have to put on over my head. I only wear them to work. I love wearing the one I'd have to put over my head because it doesn't require me to dress up under it. I only wear yoga pants and a tank top with flip flops under it. Thanks to my being vertically challenged (aka, short), my abayas are so long, you wouldn't be able to see what kind of shoes I'd wear. We don't wear the shayla, because, from what I'm told, you only wear it if you're Muslim.

These women only leave their eyes uncovered.

And now for some Arabic vocabulary...


Ta'ala (male); Ta'alay (female) - Come with me.
thalatha - three
thamania - eight
tis'a - nine