Sinaw souk part-two

The Sinaw Souk (market) is the meeting place for many of the local Bedouin (semi-nomadic tribes). The come in from the desert and trade with each other. In the old days, they would use camels and donkeys, but now the ever-present Toyota truck is the work horse of the desert.

The all black outer garment the women wear is called an “abayya”, and it serves to cover up the ladies when they are out in public. It’s a cultural thing, as opposed to an Islamic thing and the style of it varies greatly between tribes, villages, and countries in the Gulf. Sometimes it’s simple, black, and all covering. Other times it is split up the middle to show off the dress underneath or even bedazzled with sequins and rhinestones. Usually though the women are wearing either brightly colored clothes underneath it, or if they are in the cities they are rocking some very expensive high fashion gear under the abayaa.

The women also wear some sort of head scarf, this is mandated by Islam but the fashion of them vary greatly depending on where you are. In the UAE they are almost exclusively an all black sheer material, but in the interior of Oman and along the coast they come in all manner of exciting colors. In my classrooms I even see head scarfs with expensive logos like Gucci, Chanel, Fendi, and Louis Vuitton logos on them, but whether they are legit or “genuine copies” is way above my fashion skillz.

The face masks “burqa” are traditional cultural clothing, also not mandated by Islam. They vary like everything else by fashion, family, and tribal association. The ones seen here are traditional interior Omani Bedouin.

The men’s outfits vary as well depending on tribe association. The guys directly below are wearing the traditional Oman hat that sits high on the head and has intricate embroidery work around it.

Many of the Bedouin tribes wear some sort of turban wrapped material around their head, and everyone is wearing the ever-present long white (dishdasha/ kandora). These are well suited for desert living: loose, long sleeved, and white.

PS: this guy is carrying a bucket full of honey bottles, an expensive local delicacy  here in Oman.

But like all cultures, many of the younger generations are bucking the traditional styles and wearing other colors of dishdashas. This brown one is a bit more tame but they come in yellow, baby blue, and pink.

Also of note is the older guy here adjusting his “wizar”, underclothes. This is what you wear under your dishdasha, think kilt. It isn’t indecent to be seen outside your house only in your wizar, but you wouldn’t want to go to the store in it, kinda like a bath robe.

Hope you dig a little exploration of some of the cool things we get to see out here in Oman,

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