Syria borders Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Israel and Jordan to the south, and Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Modern day Syria is officially known as the Syrian Arab Republic which was established as the parliamentary republic after the First World War as a French mandate, and represented the largest Arab state to emerge from the formerly Ottoman ruled Arab Levant. Syrians are an overall indigenous Levantine people, closely related to their immediate neighbors, like Lebanese people, Palestinians, and Jordanians. The overwhelming religion of Syria is Islam and the Syrians speak the Arabic language.
The culture of Syria possesses an ancient traditional background full of cultural diversity and history. The enormous culture of Syria is fully reflected through the customs of Syrian people and the demonstrations of traditional dances. The Syrian people wear their traditional dresses on the celebrations, marriage ceremonies and the birth occasions of the new borne babies. The traditional dress of Syria is famous in the Arab region for its conventional crafts, embroidery and fabulous designs. Although, the modern dressing is the fusion of the traditional and western styles and the people of Syria nowadays normally wear westerly attires, yet the traditional gowns, coats and jackets are still popular among the Syrian community.
A native Syrian man wearing his traditional costume - Anthony Pappone's Photo
The Syrian men used to wear the traditional dress including a white shirt made of cotton. They loved to embellish the costume with blue, red and black embroidery round the neck and at the chest. Underneath the shirt men usually wore a pant (shirwal) made of colored or non dyed cotton fabric. They also used the traditional coats made with light fabrics as the outer wear which were wide opened at the front and embroidered on its edges. The men also used another cloak which is known as Abaya which is normally made of various light-weight silk, artificial silk or mixed silk or cotton fabrics. They cover their heads with the scarves made of fine cotton or blue or violet silky fabric with red threads.
Some beautiful Syrian dancers wearing the traditional dresses - Sanja Matonickin's Image
The traditional dress for women in Syria is a garment made with triangular sleeves and it is called as Thob. In the past, the tailors used to apply elegant embroidery round the neck, at the chest and the sides. These dresses were further decorated with amazing patchworks in brilliant colors. The women also wore some other garments made with wool and other delicate fabrics. They also wrapped the dresses with a belt woven from red and black wool or cotton.
The upper garment for the women was a coat stitched with materials in dark colors with wide sleeves and side slits. The women of Syria wrap their heads with silky scarves decorated with splendid embroidery and fringes.
A Syrian Whirling dancer wearing the traditional costume - Moslem Mosbah's Photo
The traditional dress of Syria can be seen commonly on the eve of the celebrations of national importance. Such events particularly take place in Damascus and Aleppo which are culturally very rich cities.
For more interesting posts with the same subject on the Lovely Planet, please click the following links ;
1- Algerian Traditional Dress 2- Traditional Dress Of Serbia 3- Traditional Dress Of Kosovo 4- Traditional Dress Of Libya 5- Traditional Dress Of Morocco 6- Traditional Dress Of Albania 7- Traditional Dress Of Tunisia 8- Traditional Dress Of Lebanon 9- Traditional Dress Of Bosnia And Herzegovina 10- Traditional Dress Of Azerbaijan 11- Traditional Dress Of Turkmenistan 12- Traditional Dress Of Kazakhstan 13- Traditional Dress Of Kyrgyzstan 14- Traditional Dress Of Uzbekistan 15- Traditional Dress Of Tajikistan 16- The Traditional Dress Of Laos 17- The Traditional Dress Of Vietnam 18- Traditional Dresses Of The World – 1 19- Traditional Dress Of Jammu & Kashmir 20- Ottoman Dresses From Turkey 21- Colors Of Cholistan 22- Cultural Dresses Of Balochistan 23- Lehenga Choli Or Ghagra Choli 24- Sari Or Saree : Traditional Dress Of Women In South Asia 25- Ajrak , The Traditional Attire From Sindh , Pakistan 26- The Traditional Tais Of East Timor 27- Shalwar Kameez: The Popular Dress Of South Asia 28- Churidar Pajama: The Favorite South Asian Attire 29- Pakistani Bridal Dress 30- Rilli, Sindhi Quilt Art 31- Fantastic, Alluring Khussa Shoes 32- Customs And Traditions Of Kalash Tribe 33- Hanfu, The Classical Chinese Dress 34- London Fashion Week 35- Fashion Week Milan: The Glamorous Event Of Italy 36- New York Fashion Week 37- Paris Fashion Week 38- Traditional Dress Of Jordan 39- Traditional Dress Of Syria
