Some notes about dress in Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan

all in the family--mix of dress
woman on right in traditional Turkmen dress

 

Uzbek family in traditional dress
 

While these are Muslim countries, we haven't seen any women in black chador and veil.  A few women have been wearing headscarves, but most wear the traditional headdress of their tribe.  Men wear mostly pants and shirts, though a (very) few old men wear more traditional trousers, somewhat baggy, and long tops.  It's so hot during the summer that short sleeves are the norm for men.  I've seen quite a few Uzbek men in shorts, something I've never seen in other Muslim countries.  Our guides keep emphasizing that these are secular countries with both deeply religious Muslims and non-practicing Muslims.

In Turkmenistan, almost every woman was wearing a long, colorful dress, embroidered around the neck and down the front to the waist.  They wrap bright scarves into turbans on their heads.  In the bazaar, you can buy padded turban "forms" to plop atop your hair.  This is what the women use to give height and breadth to their turbans.  They look beautiful in all their colorful fabrics and embroidery.

Before they marry, young women wear an embroidered cap, a bit larger than a skull cap.  Some men wear them also.  The embroidery is different for women and men.  After marriage, women switch to the turban.  Our guide said "this is their ring".  They all wear lots of jewelry, metal and beads, but mostly not wedding rings.

So far in Uzbekistan, we have seen quite a variety of dress.  Some younger women wear short skirts and colorful blouses, even short-sleeved blouses. Young girls wear everything from tight jeans to long dresses.  Here, most women are wearing scarves wrapped around their hair and tied in back, though not the majority of younger women we've seen.  We watched a choir in Khiva as they practiced for the Independence Day celebration.  All were wearing short black skirts and short-sleeved white blouses.  Many of the dresses flow over either tight and colorful capri length pants or baggier, ankle-length pants.





Uzbek woman striding across square

Uzbek woman by mosque
 

Bukhara is much more diverse than Khiva in terms of what seems to be acceptable dress for women.  It is also a much larger city of about 300,000, with more tourists, businesses, hotels and restaurants, so gets a larger dose of Western influence. 

Last night we went to a concert with Uzbek music and dancers.  A big feature of the evening was a fashion show of really beautiful clothes designed by an Uzbek woman--gorgeous silk fabrics, stunning robes, tight jackets, long and short skirts and pants--all worn by tall, slender, stunning young women who looked wonderful in these clothes as you can see below.