The traditional dress of Palestine varies in the urban Palestinian community to villagers and the indigenous Bedouin people. The women normally wear coats and shirts with broad trousers and use a thin veil to hide their faces. Modesty reflects from the traditional Palestinian dress because the Christian Palestinian women wear descent western dresses and the Palestinian Muslim women are usually seen in Hijab and Abaya. The traditional men’s clothing in Palestine is quite similar to other Arabian nations and their outfits are loose and hanging till feet like the traditional Thawb.  The traditional Palestinian woman’s long tunic is also called thawb. The Men’s thawb is also same like the Egyptian galabia.

Palestinian people in traditional dresses - Image: arwayi

Palestinian costumes reflected differences in the physical and social mobility enjoyed by men and women in the different classes of Palestinian society. The women of the Northern Palestine used to wear a bright colored coat few centuries ago but later it was replaced by Qambaz having long sleeves and side slits. They used narrow trousers that were embroidered on the lower parts.

Palestinian girl showing the traditional sloth - Bissane's photo

Thawbs and Jillayeh were the traditional female dresses of the Southern Palestine. These v-necked dresses are normally of black and white colors having tighter sleeves. The Bedouin women of Palestine loved to wear the dresses with red and blue colored embroidery along the hems and seams and around the neck. The embroidery tradition in Palestine is popular since the Ottoman era and the motifs were derived from basic geometric forms such as squares and rosettes. Large blocks of intricate embroidery were used on the chest panel to protect the vulnerable chest area from the evil eye, bad luck and illness.

A pretty Palestinian dancer wearing the traditional dress and veil ( Photo: Khalid Abu Saleem )

The veil was an important ingredient in the traditional Palestinian dress for women. The other traditional headdresses included Hattah and  Zurband and in some parts a tarbush shaped hat was also popular that was covered in coins and it was named as Shatweh.

A beautiful Palestinian girl in traditional-headdress - Image by Seeds_of_Peace

The Palestinian men used to wear a variety of overcoats like Farwah (Sheepskin jacket) and Jibbeh or Abaya (broad cloaks). Similarly many types of headwear were also common among the Palestinian men like Taqiyeh and Tarbush Istanbul. The Keffiyeh has been worn by the Arabs  but its prominence increased in Palestine also when it was adopted by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

A Palestinian man wearing the Arab scarf - Image: Abeer Hoque

The traditional dress of Palestine was significant in the Arab region for tremendous embroidery and being mostly the handcrafted garments. The variation in the geography was also reflected in the traditional clothing, e.g., the nomadic life-style was reflected in the traditional Bedouin costumes.

A cute Palestinian boy wearing the traditional scarf - Image: RvDario

A symbolic architecture of Ottoman era known as Selimiye Mosque stands with its glory in the Turkish city of Edirne. Selimiye Mosque , the pearl of Edirne, Turkey was constructed between 1568-1574 by Sultan Selim II with the ambition of making it as one the most magnificent  Islamic structure and it was designed by the architect Mimar Sinan. No doubt after its construction it proved itself to be a masterpiece of Islamic architecture.

Selimiye Mosque - Edirne,Turkey . Photo Courtesy : ejeforum Picture Gallery

About the selection of the site , it is to be believed that Sultan Selim II saw the Prophet Mohammed ( PBUH ) in his dream and upon His instructions  he decided to build a mosque on the site where Selimiye Mosque is located today.  Sinan the architect applied   “Ground Subsidence” to compress the land before putting its foundation to avoid the future fractures and landslides which might  occur to the mosque. All the big stones that were brought by Sinan were piled up that kept lying on the construction site for 2 years. Its construction took a long period and Sultan Selim was unhappy for the delay but Sinan convinced him that according to his calculations the delay was necessary.

This splendid Selimiye mosque is situated  in the middle of a complex ( Kulliya ) which comprises a Medrese, a Dar-ul-Hadith, a Timekeeper’s room and an Arasta (row of shops).  Dar-ül Hadith is located on the north, while Dar-ül Kurra is situated on the south, next to the Arasta which was built by Sultan Murad III in order to get financial support for the maintenance of Selimiye Mosque. The most attractive part of Selimiye Mosque is its amazing dome with 43,25m height and 31,25m diameter. This huge dome weighing 2000 tons and which is considered as beyond possibility , stands on huge columns named “Fil Ayağı”  which are joined by each other through arches with 6m width. This dome can be compared with the dome of Hagia Sophia and such a dome did not exist in any Islamic country till that era.

Interior View of Selimiye Mosque - Edirne , Turkey Photo : Arkeolog ( vitualtourist.com )

The Selimiye mosque is surrounded by four glorious minarets and  Sinan constructed the structure in a manner that  the Mihrab  of the mosque could be viewed from every location within the mosque. Muezzin’s mahfil was constructed against the big door, just below the main dome. It has 2,4 meters length and 6 x 6 dimensions. Sultan’s mahfil is located on the left of the Mihrab of the Mosque. The walls of Sultan’s mahfil were decorated with the most precious ceramics of that time. The walls of its beautiful Mihrab are carved with monolithic marbles. All the indoor of Selimiye are decorated with beautiful ceramics and wonderful calligraphy. There is plaster embellishments under gallery flooring. In order to create proper inside lightning a total number of 384 windows in Selimiye Mosque were created. So the Selimiye Mosque had a better lighting system than Hagia Sophia and Süleymaniye.

Selimiye Mosque is truly the pearl of Edrine , Turkey and its conservation to was done during 1954–71 and today it is also in function as a place of worship. However the adjacent Madresas  are used as the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art of Edirne, and Dar-ul-Hadith to the southwest, is no more in use.