Travel wardrobe for a muslim country

[sweetheart]

dh and I are going to Marrakech for a long weekend at the end of October and I'm wondering what I should take seeing as the weather could still be as high as 27oC but women are not supposed to show their flesh.

i have a 'middle east wardrobe' - im a busty blonde and i need to think very carefully about how i present myself in a muslim country - i like to use floaty maxi dresses, white beach trousers with a cami and beach cover ups (layered they are fine as they are no longer sheer) and a large floppy hat - really dark glasses are a must for avoiding eye contact - even covered up like this i draw attention (sounds big headed but im nearly 50 so not kidding myself, its my blonde hair that does it!) you have to be prepared for unwanted attention, just ignore it, never rise to it and stay dignifed! i would buy a cheap gold band and wear it as a wedding ring too if you dont have one! i take a pashmina in my handbag for added coverage if i feel i need it!

I disagree with the advice about wearing a hijab (head scarf) if you are not muslim. Although not in Marakech I have heard many stories of woman being harassed for wearing a hijab when they are not muslim. Taxi drivers in particular see to take exception to it.

If it's a touristy place: anything you like. You'll get men trying to chat you up regardless.

In more conservative places cover the legs down to below the knees and arms to below the elbow. No massive cleavage.

Bring a dark maxi dress and some sort of top plus a scarf in case you need to cover up in order to see the inside of a mosque.

Don't stress out about it! My PIL live in a rather conservative village on the West Bank - I've worn skinny jeans and a t-shirt there and did not look much different than the local girls - except they also wore head scarves.

I cover my head when travelling by myself in Jordan - but only because taxi drivers screw you over royally if they suspect that you're a foreigner. If your Arabic is not good enough to halfway convincingly give a destination and ask for a price, don't bother.

I am a bit that anyone thinks a knee length skirt and camisole would be a good choice.

I suggest:

• long flowing skirts
• long loose trousers but with a longer tunic style top to cover the bottom
• long sleeves

I bought a couple of specific travel garments before going on a holiday to Asia, as I realised that none of my fashion tops had thick enough weave to protect me from the sun. If you can see your skin through it, it is too thin.
shop.packyourbags.com/acatalog/royal-robbins-cool-mesh-3-4-shirt.html

Or, if you want to get something quick and cheap before your holiday, go to a predominately Asian area in the UK (if there is one near you) and buy a few cotton tops.

branchingout me too.

It is true that in many parts of the muslim world non woman muslim do not dress conservatively. Where I live there are many explicit signs asking you to keep your knees and shoulders covered but it is not uncommon to see woman in hotpants and boob tubes but just because you see other tourists doing this doesn't mean it is OK.

Many of the local muslims I know, men and woman alike, are deeply offended by clothing which is not conservative. I think it can be difficult to understand this from a western perspective but wearing a short strappy dress seems to be the equiviant of going to your grannys wearing a tshirt with "cunt" eblazoned across the front.

I live in a muslim country.

Camis are inappropriate. I have little cotton bollero cardis and jackets - sort of 'add-on' sleeves. No chest, no shoulders. You'll feel uncomfortable.

Knee length (not above knee length) cotton skirts are fine in my experience.

Tunics and trousers are useful. Loose, cotton, long sleeved - much cooler to have your skin shaded from the sun anyway.

I tend to make sure that if my t-shirt is a bit fitted I only wear it with a very long, loose skirt. Or if I'm wearing a knee length skirt I wear it with a longer sleeved top. So one or the other, but that's a judgement I make based on living in a place and knowing who I'll be seeing when I go to somewhere. When I first arrived I played it safe and wore long skirts with long sleeved tops.

Echo so much of what is said here.

No cleavage. Cover arms. Longer skirts or loose trousers. Dark glasses to repel eye contact ( I do this to look scary on yard duty at school, and it works!)
This respects the culture, however do not for one minute think it will protect you. There will be men who will try it on regardless.

On a slightly different note, I am not religious, very much an atheist in fact, but was shocked to see, in India, European tourists going into mosques with cut-up shorts on. I felt ashamed. I wore loose top and trousers, and covered my head. I would not go into a Christian church in shorts or strappy top for the same reasons.

I went to Marrakech with a friend (woman) about four years ago, I found that I was treated much more respectfully if I had a pashmina round my shoulders/ covering cleavage/ collarbone however on the knee skirts seemed fine. They know your a tourist and also having DH in tow will make you "respectable".

Forgot to say, sweetheart, go the Majorelle Gardens. Utterly splendid.

Went to Marrakech a few years ago. It was 47 degrees in the shade! Wore light, long sleeved shirts/ tunics and long, loose trousers. I actually prefer to keep skin covered when it's that hot anyway.

Was with OH so hassle was minimum, but we noticed that tourists (including men) that were inappropriately dressed got way more hassle than we did.

By the way, a Moroccan friend advised us that if we did get hassled badly to threaten to call the police. There's a special tourist police force there that take their jobs seriously, and people know it!