Description
The veil was worn by the women of Alaya when attending church, placed over the fez. The fez was not a matter of personal choice; it had been imposed by the Ottoman authorities as a means of standardising the population, with the aim of eliminating differences in dress among ethnic and religious communities.
Within Greek families of Alaya, the veil functioned as a statement of modesty and identity: through its delicate embroidery, traditional motifs, and careful workmanship, it expressed Greek feminine aesthetics and cultural heritage—even when it had to be worn over an imposed head covering.
This particular piece is a rare document of the women’s attire of the Greeks of Alaya prior to the uprooting of 1922.
Kindly made available for photography by Iro Kiourmetzoglou.
