Sheikh Thijs

Thijs is deze week op een Halliburton Business Development conference in Dallas. De laatste avond is de award dinner en moeten alle deelnemers verschijnen in de nationale kleding van het land waar ze werken. Je voelt het al aankomen.....

Hieronder wat informatie over de 'national dress' van mannen in de UAE. UAE National Dress - Male The Kandura, or dishdash, as it is referred to by the expats, is the long white cloak that male UAE Nationals wear. You will be amazed at how these remain crease free during the day - and they never look dirty. During the winter months, a whole realm of different colours come out, with browns and greys not uncommon. You may have seen pictures of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid walking in his iconic colours that are now his trademark. Only the traditional white is seen in summer because it reflects the suns rays. The men may change their Kandura a number of times in the day to go to different events (work, prayers, dinner etc) and so the men's clothes remain looking spick and span. A UAE National might have 50 or so Kandura's in his closet, and have up to 20 of those with the dry cleaners at any one time. A typical kandura would cost between 100 and 200 Dirhams to get tailored. You may see the difference in those Kanduras that are worn by those in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. In Dubai, you can sometimes have Kanduras with collars and cuffs, as opposed to the traditional types. Guthra - The guthra is the headscarf sported by the males. The most popular colours are the plain white, or the red and white checks. These checks are traditional to the Beduin, since the material used was tougher than the other and useful for protection against the elements in the desert. Nowadays, colours come in all types to match with the latest fashion. Also, the way that guthra is worn can define who someone is. Egal - The Egal is the black rope that fixes the headscarf in place. In days gone by, these would be used by Bedouin to tie their camel's feet down during the night while they were travelling. More of the younger nationals these days do not wear their egal and tie their guthra in a different way on their head. This is called hamdaniya. Ghafiyah - Ever seen a Muslim prayer hat? The ghafiyah looks exactly like this, but since it is usually under the guthra, you wont necessarily see it. It is usually white in colour with designs woven in. Kerkusha - Look closely at a male's kandura, and you will see a small string like contraption flowing from the neck. This is the kerkusha. Some aliken it to a tie, and it is not always worn, though those who do wear it sometimes are inclined to play around with it.