This will probably seem a bit odd (and unattractive), but I have always been fascinated with the Omani burqa’ and when there was a chance years ago that we might be posted to Muscat, when Tim first joined the Foreign Service, I read an anthropological study on it. I thought this was an interesting explanation and description of it and the various styles. The most common I’ve seen is the third one, even in other parts of the Gulf. Unfortunately due to the bright lights, there was no good way to photograph the poster.

The poster reads:

“The woman’s face mask (burqa’) is an integral part of traditional Omani costume, individually fashioned by its wearer in a design indicative of region or tribe. The burqa’ provides protection from the harsh environment and when crafted from natural or synthetic indigo is believed to have both curative and talismanic properties. A complicated and often misunderstood article of costume, the burqa’ connotes a range of implications including status, class or honor, though most importantly it is a celebration of a young girl’s passage to womanhood.”

An old picture I took in Dubai, trying unsucessfully to be surreptitious, of two women wearing burqa’: