In Defence of the Veil

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Most women in the old city of Aleppo wore some form of veil: the most common being a head scarf covering the hair. Some of the younger girls would cover their hair but wear tight jeans, which was interesting. A more common sight would be long flowy black clothing that sits on top of regular clothing, and commonly referred to as the "chadoor". It is here in Syria where I've first seen women with the entire face covered, essentially with a thin black cloth that gives one the eerie sensation that the person has their head screwed on backwards or are walking down the street backwards. Having said that, one of the most common sights in Aleppo's souq, apart from self-proclaimed homosexuals, is sexy lingerie hanging prominently in storefronts.

Some people defend the hijab by suggesting it prevents men from admiring their women's bodies. I think I've come up with an orthogonal (but no less important) reason: I think it's safe to say most women enjoy shopping for clothes and that as a husband a certain percentage of your income will be spent to satisfy your spouse's need to maintain an ever-changing wardrobe. For most men this wardrobe is most often enjoyed by other men (when considered as a percentage of time), resulting in an unbalanced situation. On the other hand, if the woman's outdoor wardrobe is confined to a standard black, it is unlikely that a woman would find much fulfillment in repeatedly buying multiple identical outfits, which essentially leaves undergarments (lingerie) as the only venue left for a woman to express her individuality. The result is the fulfillment of religious requirements, and a well-funded and ever-rotating wardrobe which is a win-win for all involved. The wisdom of ages...

I foisted myself on a group of one Hungarian guy and two north african (tunisian and algerian) girls who were on their way to tour the Byzantine "dead cities" in the vicinity of Aleppo. I even surprised myself when I cheekily said "mind if I tag along?" after hearing their itinerary and the fact that they were traveling by private car. The Common Tongue is essentially very broken english with a lot of "how do you say?"s and sign language involved... You should see me once I get in the groove... I transform into an excellent communicator, even having full conversations with people speaking to me in only Arabic (or occasionally Kurdish). Oh yes, and the Dead Cities are old Byzantine towns abandoned for unknown reasons and eerily intact after having been deserted for over 10 centuries.

After hanging out with my new friends all day (I think we really hit it off), I head for a hamam ("turkish" bath) around midnight, only to be told the one I was heading to was "nice but too touristy and expensive", and redirected to a decidedly authentic hamam which charged me even more than the "touristy" one would. Given the hour and the fact that I was tired and still feeling ill, the experience was a bit overwhelming at first. The place was packed with men of all ages: calling out to each other in loud voices, singing to the accompaniment of clapping, running around the place, eating fruits or full meals as the case may be, washing each other or sweating in the sauna... definitely much more of a cultural experience than the sterile and (essentially) deserted hamams I've been to in Turkey. I started getting in the groove when I met a group of Kurdish men who (as with all Kurds I've met in Syria) were extremely polite and friendly. When I finally emerged two hours later I was feeling much cleaner and happier (until I was made to pay $9 for something the locals likely pay no more than $2 for).

I arrived in Lattakia on the Mediterranean coast this afternoon, the landscape completely transformed from the desert brown of Deir Ez-Zur to Mediterranean olive groves and citrus trees. The streets are full of extremely attractive young women, the kind who wouldn't give me the time of day in SF but to whom I am now the symbol of "bigger and better" things, and hence bestow on me their cutest flirtations. I'm not complaining.

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Comments

[bedreddin]

Yes, still no photos
Sorry. I haven't been "feeling" it, so in fact I don't have cool pictures to upload...

[anonymous]

kocum, resimsiz bir blog gogussuz bir kadin gibidir

[anonymous]

chadoor theory
dzhon!! (i'm compelled to invoke your russki name just so that u might vaguely who i am..) I wanna protest your chadoor theory - about how women get to vary their lingerie (phew) and religious folks also get to simultaneously impose strictness. From the perspective of a woman, it gives women little pleasure in varying *only* their lingerie. While it may please the lucky man who peer beneath the chadoor, it does not satisfy the women fully. What women want is to be able to flaunt/ to show in front of men - strangers, if u like it. ( See why the women of aleppo were all clamoring over the foreigner YOU) Anyway, if women cant show their colors, their individuality (physical/ physiological) in front of other non-husband-men, then the whole objective of fashion is defeated. Anyway, back to my point that chadoor kills fashion/ individuality. What it does, however, according to a book on Iran i just fnished, is that women in chadoor get to 'rebel' by showing a little flash of flesh, of wispy hair strands etc. This is the rebellious and fascinating story behind chadoor - and it's not about the lingerie that hides beneath the chadoor. - en min

[Nawar Majbour]

welcom
If you came to latakia you would to enjoy very much i advice every on to visit my great city welcom to Syria welcom to Latakia your brother Nawar