Female

The costume consists of ypokamison (chemise), foustani (dress), a headscarf and an apron for the waist, a bag and podines (boots).

The chemise is short and made of taiston cotton fabric (woven material with crinkled stripes running lengthwise). The fustani is made of striped cotton alatzia, with white and red stripes in the warp and a brown cotton weft. It is entirely hand-sewn and has a body with a large V-shaped opening, passing beneath the breast, which is covered by the chemise. The long sleeves are attached to the body by sleeve-seams, as in modern garments. The long skirt is gathered at the waist. A black woollen apron is tied around the waist. The head is covered by two square kerchiefs, one tied like a cap and the other worn loosely over it.

The podines (boots) come up to the middle of the thighs and are made of black leather with thick soles made of several pieces of leather.

The costume of the town woman with festive skirt consists of: the skirt, the ypokamison (chemise), the sarka (sleeved jacket) and the headdress comprising two scarves. In the case of this costume, too, the basic garment is the long skirt. It is made of pink silk brocade with groups of parallel stripes in blue and mauve colours. the heavily pleated skirt gathered at the waist. The chemise is made of pure silk material woven on the loom.

Over the chemise is worn a short velvet jacket sarka, with applied decorations of gold braids. It has sleeves sewn vertically to the body, a small upright collar, and a vertical opening at the front.

The headdress, which indicates the social status of the woman wearing it, consists of two printed kerchiefs. The chest is covered with mirmidi made of many thin chains, a necklace called kertanes and a filigree cross with toutounia.

The costume of the woman of Karpasia with routzetti comprises the following dress items: a skirt called routzetti, the ypokamison (chemise), the sarka (sleeved jacket), the headdress consisting of two scarves. There is a belt with bucles around the waist.

The heavily pleated skirt, called routzetti, is made of woven cotton material dyed a dark red colour, and of a crinkled texture. The chemise is made of striped silk material woven on the loom in a natural colour. The edge of the neck, the opening on the front, and the sleeve hems are trimmed with silk pipilla (lace), forming an elaborate garland of flowers.

The sarka is made of black felt. Is fastens by means of four hooks and-eyes set vertically beneath the breast, leaving a deep opening. The narrow sleeves flare at the bottom. The hems of all the openings are trimmed with garland consisting of twisted gold braid threads worked into a floral motif, spirals, volutes, and plaits, with border of a continuous scroll. The scroll is a decorative feature found in many Cypriot sarkes, of which it is a characteristic finish. The sarka is lined with white cotton material, and the sleeves with red.

The headdress consists of a square cotton kerchief which has black printed floral decoration against a white ground and a border around the four edges of fine papilla (lace) and sequins. The outer kerchief has multi-coloured printed decoration on a light red ground. The breast is adorned with a myrmidi consisting of thin chains and a gilt silver filigree cross with toutounia.

The female black podines (boots) have a small heel and pointed toes. The heel, which consists of several layers of leather, is fastened on by small iron nails, and the sole is attached by iron and wooden nails. On the stitching at the sides there is an additional strip of leather of the same colour, and two leather loops are sewn to the tops with white cotton thread. The podines come up to the middle of the shins. Their only decorative feature is the white cotton stitching around the heel and three rows of fine stitching, two straight and one wavy, on the finish at the top.

Fez made of red felt turned inside out. The fez is adorned with a black silk tassel that entirely covers it. Starting from the top, this tassel is sewn by hand with stitches forming concentric circles and creating a tepeliki (turk. tepe = hill, summit) on top of the head. Another long tassel made of black silk threads hangs down the right side.

Old gold Ottoman coin. On both sides are depicted the monogram (tugra) of Sultan Mahmoud II (1808-1839) and olive branches. On the circumference of the coin is a hole through which passes a golden chain. The coin decorated the bride's headscarf. 

Outdoor photograph taken in the late 1950s in Kioneli (Gönyeli). The most important person, sitting on a chair, is the old lady Küçük Emete Sürmeli, who died at the age of 102. She wears a white, loom-woven çarşaf, the typical Muslim women’s outdoor garment in the form of a bed sheet, over a hand-knitted cardigan (fanella). With her left hand she holds her veil closed on the chest, while the right hand, on which she wears her engagement ring, is resting on her lap. The attire is complemented with white stockings and black front lace shoes with soles made of solid wood.

The old lady is surrounded by five young girls, one of them holding an infant. Behind them is a fountain which was built in Kioneli (Gönyeli) in 1952. The two girls at the extreme right and left of the photograph wear white headscarves tied under the chin, short-sleeved blouses and long pleated skirts with flower patterns; also striped sashes around the waist. The two girls in the centre – one standing, the other seated – wear simple dresses and knitted jackets closed with buttons. The girl (standing), second from the left, has white stockings and black bar shoes. Of the girl standing behind the old woman, we can see only her buttoned jacket over a white shirt. Her long hair falls in tresses over her shoulders. The little girl she holds in her arms seems to wear a dress over a sleeved shirt. The dresses of the young girls reflect the fashion which was common among ordinary people during the 1950s.

Street photograph showing two village girls, Meyrem Okay (born in 1936) and Ayşe Mustafa (born in 1933). The photograph was taken in 1955. They stand side by side in front of a background showing an aeroplane painted in modern style, and hold each other’s hand (right with left hand respectively) in front of them. Both wear modern, tailor-made sleeved dresses, one with flower patterns and the other monochrome. The dress of Ayşe looks more sophisticated; it has a V-neck and the skirt is pleated. Under the dress they wear pantaloons, which reach down to the ankles and are decorated with lace at the edges. Such pantaloons, but more baggy, and wider, are typical of the traditional dress of Karpasia, the easternmost part of the island. Therefore Turkish Cypriots called them Karpaz donu. In fact, the girls come from the village of Galinoporni (Kaleburnu), in Karpasia. The narrow, ankle-long pantaloons are in contrast to their modern dresses. They also wear traditional headscarves (yemeni) which leave exposed the front part of their black hair; Ayşe’s scarf is decorated with lace made with a hairpin (firkete), while that of Meyrem is ornamented with tassels (pompons). Both wear dark stockings and black shoes; their necklaces consist of a single row of beads.

The appearance of the two village girls is typical of a transitional phase, between traditional and modern, western-style dress; these examples reflect the culture of the previous generation in Karpasia; such traditions were not carried on by the new generation, that of the 1960s.

Hand-coloured photograph of a bride dressed for the registration of her marriage, taken in 1952 by Photo Deanna, in Nicosia, next to the Paphos Gate. She wears a modern dress made of cloth with flower patterns in pink colour. The dress is sleeveless with a square, low décolleté neckline. It is decorated on the left side with a fabric bouquet of flowers and leaves. From her neck hangs a golden chain with a big coin. She also wears long earrings. The crown is golden metallic with artificial flowers and artificial diamonds. Her lips are painted dark red.

Photograph of four women in the fields near Kioneli (Gönyeli), taken in 1946. The four women stand in a row, each holding her wood-handled sickle in the right hand and a bunch of barley in the left. They wear clothes suitable for work in the fields.

The first woman on the left side of the photograph is Ayten Erkasap, born in 1938. She wears a white headscarf (made of humayın), which falls loosely on her shoulders and chest, a light-coloured, loom-woven sleeved dress, the front lower part of which is covered by an apron with a pocket, and traditional leather boots (çangar çizmesi – peasant boots made by a bootmaker, çangar, Greek tsagkáris).

The second young woman is Fatma Arabacıoğlu, born in 1932. The scarf (yemeni) which covers the back of her head, leaving exposed most of her black hair, is decorated with fine lace and tassels. Her dress is made of a striped fabric, with the stripes arranged vertically on the upper part and diagonally on the cloche (guloş) skirt. The dress has a collar bordered with ready-made (machine-made) lace, and is closed with buttons in front down to the waist. She also wears, like all four women in the photograph, traditional boots made especially for women; they come up to the middle of the shin, and are provided with tassels.

The third from the left is an older woman, the mother of the girls, Emine Kofalı (1910-1990). She wears a two-piece çarşaf (upper part and skirt). Her headscarf is made of indigo blue silk and linen cloth, and covers the whole head and the forehead down to the eyebrows; her long hair is plaited in two braids, which fall on either side on the chest. The lower part of the çarşaf is made of silk and cotton and is tied with a girdle at the waist. Her dress (entari) is loom-woven. The boots have red tassels.

The fourth woman is Kezban Dereli, born in 1938. She wears a white headscarf (made of humayın cloth), the ends of which are tied under the chin, and a dress made of a fabric with checker patterns; it has a collar and is buttoned in front. Her arms are covered with loom-woven cuffs.

Source: Ayten Erkasap.

Village: Kioneli (Gönyeli), Nicosia District.

Studio photograph of Şifa Hüseyin Esengin (1908-1989). The photograph was taken in 1938, when she was 30 years old. Seven years earlier, in 1931, Şifa had become a midwife. In the studio she is standing near a column with a podium, on which she rests her right hand. The background shows a romantic landscape. Her wavy hair is just long enough to cover her ears. She wears a full-length sleeved dress made of cotton cloth (idare) with a narrow belt of the same fabric around the waist. The rather narrow, straight skirt shows vertical stitched lines in front (sewn with a machine). Two obliquely sewn lines also appear on either side on the breasts. A separate, detachable wide collar made of a different white fabric, covers the shoulders and all around the chest and back. It is tied in front with cords. This modern style is complemented with thin, transparent stockings and white, perforated, high-heeled sandal bar shoes with a buckle fastening.

Photograph donated by Şifa’s son, Yusuf Esengin.

Village: Kioneli (Gönyeli), Nicosia District.