Turkish Cypriot dress The period of Ottoman Rule (1571-1878) The period of British Rule (1878-1960)
Written Sources | Visual representations | Preserved items
What style of garments did the Ottomans bring to Cyprus when they conquered the island in the late 16th century, and what was the impact – if any – of Ottoman dress on the appearance of the local population?
Evidence documenting Ottoman dress in Cyprus during the period from the late 16th to the 18th century is almost non-existent. It is reasonable, however, to assume that the conquerors brought with them their attire, not only the brilliant costumes of the military and religious officials, but also the various dresses worn by the immigrants (artisans, peasants etc.) from Anatolia and Asia Minor.
The Ottoman dress becomes tangible in Cyprus in the course of the 18th century and information increases thereafter, especially during the period of British rule. Information drawn from written sources, such as travellers’ descriptions, is complemented with visual evidence, e.g. drawings, engravings and paintings, as well as photographs from about the mid-19th century onwards. Dress items are rare, as preserved examples can hardly be found before the second half of the 19th century.
As far as the female costume is concerned Giovanni Mariti’s offers a fair idea of the 18th century oriental-style (alla Turca) female dress, of both Greek and Turkish women in Cyprus, and concludes ‘the Christian ladies when they go abroad make a great parade of their costumes, while the Turks are covered from head to foot with a white cotton sheet’ (Mariti [1769] 1971, 4-6). Descriptions of indoor or festive dresses of Turkish women in Cyprus can hardly be found, because, following the Islamic tradition, modesty dictated their complete covering by an outer garment. Consequently, the Ottoman female dress in Cyprus during this period is mainly known from the descriptions of the apparel of those Christian ladies who used oriental-style dress. In general, Cypriot town dress, especially the clothing of the upper classes, followed the fashion which is observed in the urban centres all over the Ottoman Empire. The trendsetter of this fashion was Istanbul, and the elite of all ethnic groups encompassed by the Empire, were the first to adopt the new styles.
The oriental-looking dress continued to be typical for the elite of Cyprus in the first decades of the 19th century. The characteristic male dress for the wider strata of the population was the attire with the vraka (baggy, pleated trousers) as its main component. Baggy breeches, either vraka or şalvar, tied with a sash at the waist, were combined with shirt and waistcoats of different types. This type of men’s attire, with the vraka as its main part, was also the characteristic Aegean island type of costume. In Cyprus it is well documented in depictions of both Turks and Greeks. Despite some distinctive features of either nationality, the resemblance is noticeable; clothes of Cypriots at that time appear to have been a mixture of Turkish and Greek island costumes.
The effects of the Tanzimat reforms on the appearance of the people of Cyprus would gradually become visible. The fez, the main marker of the dress reforms, appears often in paintings of the second half of the 19th century and only occasionally earlier. Turkish dignitaries were depicted by several artists who visited Cyprus. In Cyprus, as elsewhere, the fez as the head-cover imposed by Mahmud II, was first adopted in the urban centres, and primarily by the upper classes who wore it in combination with west European, ‘Frankish’ dress.