Look like a Moroccan in Morocco

When I am in Morocco I do wear a jellaba as I do in Texas and no one laughs. They look good on me, but as far as the head scarf, I dont like anything on my head and usually dont even carry umbrellas, Who cares if it is pouring rain? I was told the head scarf is for modesty.

I was told that it is out of respect for the culture and to help keep your from getting over heated in the sun, it can get pretty hot there in the desert in the summer , but you have to watch what color you wear some wealth woman have theirs trimmed in gold threading. but do as you feel comfortable about doing. here is a question for you , if you were going into the swamp would you wear a binki or long sleeves and long pants to keep bites away from the bugs there? I say wear what you want modest dress is best but be prepare for all things that can come up.

Anyone know how much i should pay for a Jellaba, a tourist one, and a bit better quality one?

Cheers

Would just like to correct a small point made by Goldenoldie....the king does not ALWAYS wear a djellaba.....example, on his visits and tours of cities, he wears a suit.

I believe that Time magazine refers to him, rightly so, as "The cool king"

gomoco is right: the king often wears a suit.
And you could easily spend $100 or more for a high-quality djellaba.

{quote:title=nashita wrote:In Marrakech I saw plenty of tourists wearing mini skirts and low cut tops, however I am also aware how much attention and hassle these women got. Dress conservatively, crop trousers or skirts covering the knee, and non-tight t-shirts, and you will be fine.{quote}

Well you should have checked out the local lassies as well, plenty tight jeans, low cut tops and tight apperal, they weren't getting any hassle and I assume they know the ropes.

The question of what to wear in Morocco seems a moot one, there's certainly no need to walk around in a tent pretending to be culturaly sensitive.
I mean do we dress like quakers when we visit the states, in clogs when we visit Holland a kilt in Scotland???
Seems to me there's a glut of opinion that thinks we should always dum down the way we dress to the percieved pious extreme, why???
.

Sometimes local clothes are just the thing, for example in India I used to quite like wearing the local clothes, dirt cheap, comfortable and you tended to get left alone from the touts more.

Edited by: mattyboy876

Cyberhippie.....your points on this one are, mainly, pointless....

Quaker is not the majority religion of USA
Dutch people do not wear clogs as their daily clothes, by majority
Scottish people do not wear kilts everyday by majority.

If your going to make comparisons....at least make them plausible!

The girls that you saw wearing tight jeans etc, whilst you did not witness them recieving hassle from the local boys, probably would have at some stage in the day.
The majority of locals would be quite disgusted and offended by their show, this includes most of the men, who would (and i have heard this with my own ears) have regarded them as nothing more than prostitutes.

It is such a shame that the beautiful photos you took of Marrakech culture have been ruined by your apparent complete lack of disregard and respect for your subjects.

Have you been reading the news from Egypt? Some women in Cairo are at their wits end about the hassle they receive in the street - and it doesn't matter what they wear. It wasn't so long ago that gangs of young men ran amok in central Cairo, assaulting women. It didn't get in the press but many Cairoenes were deeply shocked by what happened. Morocco is a more conservative country than Egypt and Moroccans are conscious of keeping to tradition in many ways - even when it is inconvenient. It isn't about what you wear, it's how you behave that really matters. Moroccans are both alarmed and outraged by bad behaviour because they know it all ends in social breakdown. This is why they intervene in personal conflicts or are ready to apprehend thieves. Clothing counts but as cyberhippie says, tourists can be oversensitive about these things.

It has been suggested that young women adopting hijab or something like it, in Egypt and Syria, is backward-looking. My guess is they also sense the social breakdown around them and wear clothes as a protection. In Egypt that isn't working anymore.

How so disregard, I didn't wear a short skirt even once!

It's a constant theme that as responsible travellers, we have to abide by social norms, absolutely, but where do we gain the notion of norms??

The poster above has his/her norms, when they collide with another norm of part of Moroccan society, there are echoes of refutal and doubt.........

The girls of Marrakech/Ouarzezat were confident in their stature and demeanour, often walking with mum, attired in a more sombre traditional mode of dress including a head scarf!
Father was present and attended to both equally and lovingly.
Showing no need to have a moral argument on this sunny day.
I'm sure there are other angles in this, rural girls, forced.................

But could it be that there are modern girls, are apparent and gosh even accepted in Morocco???

In dressing, do we bow to tradition or except that a modernity in Morocco is also apparent,
We're not morally bound by ourselves or the people we meet, to be either of the above.

Edited by: cyberhippie

Edited by: cyberhippie