Gaza - Village Thawb Gaza - Village Thawb, back

Traditionally, the fabric for Gaza-area costumes was woven in Majdal. These costumes had a wide variety cuts, including the wide cut of Faluja and the slim cut of Isdud. This dress, made of fine linen dyed with indigo, has a semi-round V-shaped neckline, and is embroidered mainly with a pattern called qeladeh, which means necklace. Because the pattern forms a necklace around the neck of the dress, a woman doesn’t have to wear jewelry. The chest panel (qabbeh) is embroidered with cross stitch. The sleeves are regular and of fabric called biltaji. The side panels (banayek) are very delicately embroidered with cross stitch. One of the special features of this dress is the way the patterns fit together to form large units of embroidery down the sides. When many patterns are squeezed together, they are called wisadeh. On this dress, you can also see a large diamond shape, known as scissors.