Captivating Kastamonu
It was in Kastamonu in Central Anatolia that a curious piece of fashion legislation first entered the statute books.
These days when it comes to the argument over modernity the focus may be all on women and the headscarf, but once upon a time the tables were turned in the other direction, and it was what men wore on their heads that drew all the attention. Even in the 19th century the sultans found time to worry about what their male subjects were wearing, and it was the reformer Mahmut II (1803-39) who decreed that they should drop the turban in favor of the fez, the cylindrical, maroon-colored head covering that still graces many souvenir shops today. For the best part of a century the fez reigned unchallenged, but then Mustafa Kemal Atatürk took against it. Read the rest of this entry »