Hats in Saudi Arabia

My kids are constantly making fun of my hats – and probably for good reason.

I’m not one of those women who chooses hats based on how they look or whether or not they flatter my face or make my eyes look blue or match my outfit or any other of that nonsense. No, I choose my hats for one purpose and one purpose only – to keep the sun off my face.

With the UV Index routinely in the extreme (and beyond!) range here in Saudi Arabia, sun safety is a big deal.

My two current favorite hats are both big. Both have generous wrap around brims like old Southern homes – and for the same reason! One is rigid, woven and grey, the other is one of those handy packable jobbies and looks more like Joseph’s coat of many colors than a hat, I suppose.

Just about any time I’m out in the sun, I have a hat on.

It just makes sense.

And I’m not alone. A lot of folks here cover their heads*.

Local men, of course, more often than not cover their heads with a shora, shemagh or gutrah, the traditional red and white checked or plain white scarf-thingy. (Frankly, I’m not sure what the difference between these are – if there even are any differences! My students call them shemagh, most Westerners call them gutrahs. I always thought the shemagh was the scarf that gets wrapped around the face like in all the old desert movie, while the gutrah just sort of hangs there like Heidi’s braids, but I may be wrong. Anyone?)

Anyway, the local women usually cover with a hijab, which is nearly always black (unless she is a health care provider, and then it is often white), although from time to time you see one with some sort of decorative edging. That said, they do seem to have a number of different ways of wrapping, fastening and poofing the hijab – none of which I’ve yet to figure out!

Non-Saudi Arab women usually wear a hijab as well, although theirs tend to be more decorative and more colorful – more like scarves than what most Saudi women wear. Sometimes these beautiful lengths of fabric are rolled and twisted and knotted into elaborate turban-kind of things – another art form I’ve yet to master!

As for non-Saudi Arab men, it seems like most go with headwear from their place of origin, so you see the lungees and flat-topped pakols of Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the mussar and kumma of Oman as well as a variety of shora/schemagh/gutrah coverings in colors and styles and wraps representing all sorts of hometowns across the ME.

Most Western women I see wear hats like mine –big and floppy – and usually pretty unattractive – although some do wear baseball hats and a lot of the UK ladies seem to favor umbrellas. I even see women wearing hats in the pool! For their part, Western guys are pretty eclectic as well, wearing everything from cowboy hats (straw as well as felt) and baseball caps to panamas, golf hats, safari/outback hats and Indiana Jones-type things, with the occasional pith helmet thrown in for variety! There are also a few Western guys who have gotten on the shora/shemagh/gutrah bandwagon, as well, tho usually only when out in the desert or when a shamal rolls thru.

Asian women seem to fall into two broad categories when it comes to keeping the sun off their faces – umbrellas and visors. Umbrellas come in all shapes and sizes, from pink parasols to gigantic black golf umbrellas which would be banned at most outdoor events! And as far as visors go, I’ve seen some whoppers! One woman had on a visor that was so big it literally cast a shadow well past her waist! (BTW, this group seems to be the most faithful by far about protecting themselves from the sun. It’s not a rarity to see a woman with both a hat/visor and an umbrella!)

Women from Africa tend to wear natural fiber hats out in the sun for some reason, although they don’t seem to be big hat wearers in terms of sun protection. Dressy hats are another story. One day I sat behind a woman who had the most amazing Nigerian gele on her head. I literally couldn’t stop myself from reaching forward and touching it! It looked like paper, really fancy wrapping paper, but it felt like mmm a super-thin vinyl tablecloth. Amazing! And it just stood there on top of her head like a regal crown. Now, not much sun protection provided by a gele, but man was it impressive! When men wear hats they’re usually of the kofia variety, and equally colorful!

(A few groups rarely seem to be covering their heads. Women from the sub-continent, for example, and Asian men.)

In a pinch, however, nearly everyone will cover their head with whatever is at hand – a briefcase or purse, a shopping bag or manila envelope, a sweater, book or even just a hand! Every little bit of shade helps when the sun starts beating down!

*Now, of course, this is just based on my own limited observations, there are always exceptions, and this in no way, shape or form is meant to perpetuate stereotypes.

What, if any, precautions do you take when spending time in the sun? Are precautions necessary? How does the sun affect you?