A
Bedouin woman in
Jerusalem, sometime between 1898 and 1914, dressed in
Palestinian costume, the traditional
clothing worn by
Palestinians. Many of the handcrafted garments were richly
embroidered and the creation and maintenance of these items played a significant role in the lives of the region's women. Until the 1940s, traditional Palestinian costumes reflected a woman's economic status, whether married or single, and the town or district of origin, and a knowledgeable observer could glean such information from the
fabric, colors, cut, and embroidery motifs (or lack thereof) in a given woman's apparel.
Photo credit: American Colony Photographers