Covered women and more

Yesterday Derya and I went to the old Konak area of the city where I was when I first arrived and went to the old bazaar.  This is a permanent bazaar, not like the one we went to on Sunday which is just once a week for veggies and maybe a few other things.  We had a good time walking around and then had lunch at a place she likes there.  I got a few gifts and finally found a real pie pan.

I've mentioned that some women wear scarves and some wear long light-weight over coats as well.  These are fundamentalist Muslims and this is becoming more and more common.  It has increased over the last 10 years with the current president.  Attaturk, the "father of the Turks" who lead the movement for the republic of Turkey, established freedom of religion along with many other things upon the establishment of the country.  But now there is a movement away from this freedom towards conservatism and not all people are very happy about this. 

At the Bazaar, there were many shops that sold wedding apparel.  I say apparel, because there is not just the white wedding dress.  First, there is a big family engagement party, with the couple being pinned with money on sashes that they wear and they exchange engagement rings in front of the guests.  This is a semi-formal affair.  Then, the night before the wedding, the bride's hands are "henna'd" and this is a big to-do with her female relatives and girlfriends.  The maid of honor equivalent is this night, with her carrying a tray and the henna and leading the way for the coloring of  the hands.  Then, on the wedding day, the bride wears a white gown and the bride and groom sit together and sign the legal papers and then there is a party.  I've seen the photos for both Derya and her second sister and it looks like they enjoy the party as much as we do with dancing, etc.  (Their dad loves to dance.)

So, anyway, at the bazaar, I took photos of the fancy scarves that the women who are covered wear for their engagement and wedding parties.   Besides the bridal/engagement gown stores, there are also stores that sell only scarves for all occasions/daily use!  

To give you an idea of what I mean by the light weight coat, here is a pic of a store selling this clothing and also a pic of three young women wearing them with their scarves.  This way of dressing is quite different from the country women who also wear scarves and printed colored skirts.  Often, these covered women have on very stylish clothes underneath, or just plain old jeans and t-shirts.  

I have only seen a few women with the full outfit of burka, veiled face and full length black gown.  I've been told you see more of this to the east and of those I've seen in the cities, they are probably tourists from other countries. Some Turks fear their country is going more and more conservative and taking away their religious freedoms.  About 98% of the population is Islamic, but there is a wide range in how they practice their religion.  Those that are more liberal are not too happy with the way their government is heading