Bling

Have you ever wondered where the idea of blinging; bedazzling; sparkling; etc everything up came from? Whilst Hollywood may embrace it fully; I have discovered that the true origin is to be found in the Middle East. We Westerners look upon the ladies from afar and think "shame, they have to be so covered up in those long black dresses whilst we can wear bright colours and designer garb" - even our menfolk go all out. How wrong we are - those long black dresses are some of the prettiest abayas; with elaborate embroidery and sparkle on the edging and head scarves to match. And this is on the outside - underneath lie far more designer brands than the rest of us are likely to have sight of in a lifetime.

This is a snapshot of a few such abayas on display in the Souq.