Tuesday, March 3, 2009

what is an abaya?

I used to get this question a lot from my friends, so I thought I would post a couple of pictures of my new abayas that I bought from the Kingdom coffee morning. It's worn over your clothes and typically made of crepe. It covers your body from the neck down and while it's not a legal requirement to wear them, you would be the only woman not doing so in the entire city, so social pressures and the prospect of being harassed by muttawa and saudi men is enough to motivate expats to respect their cultural traditions. Non-muslim expats do not wear headscarves except during Ramadan, out of respect for their holy month. Most Saudi women wear the trio of abaya, headscarf, and niqab (face veil).

Oh by the way I got my friend to model my abayas for me because she doesn't mind the attention.



The abayas with hoods are typically only worn by western women, so that they can cover their heads with the hood instead of carrying around an extra scarf if they get stopped by muttawa



*edit - for more info on where to buy one, click here*

9 comments:

Hal said...

LOL. Love the model.
-D

Orchidthief said...

I'd like to find out how many people found this funny because from what I can tell on my end no one recognized Paris Hilton. I was literally laughing aloud as I cut and paste her head onto my body... this is the last time I put so much effort into a joke (no it isn't).

Unknown said...

I just read this and found it HILARIOUS! I probably wouldn't have noticed it was Paris if you wouldn't have mentioned that she didn't mind the attention - LOL! Keep up the effort... It's well worth it from my end :)

Unknown said...

orchidthief - do you have any suggestions where i can buy an abaya? i've been to a few places and my jaw dropped when i heard how much the stores were asking. are you in one of the medical compounds? thanks!

Nadyaa Azerin said...

@redgems6 I have a suggestion where u can buy cheap abaya online. go to islamicgulfstore dot com . they offer good quality abaya at the price as low as $14

Unknown said...

Hello Lisa here, I have ordered my abaya for a trip to Saudi - but I was wondering if I would need any other type of clothes, because I believe I always wear the abaya when in public? Will I need any evening outfits at all?
I really appreciate your guidance!

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