Return of Fez to Istanbul

In a city where dress and dressing gears can lead to election debacle, attire indeed deserves a thorough mention. And which city in the world has been more obsessed with particular piece of attire (or the lack of it) than Istanbul?

Enough has been said and written about the rise of AK Party and its possible inspiration from traditional Islam. Doomsday obsessed, mostly from the west, predicted the demise of Ataturk’s Turkey with the advent of “Islamist” AK Party and its representation of Anatolian masses that have long been neglected by the Kemalist elite. With the advent of AK, however, the tide has turned. Ankara and the Anatolia heartland have come back in focus and are trying to exert themselves. And what can be the best way to do it in Turkey than sporting a particular dress or gear.

Till 90s, when tourists used to come to Istanbul, fired by the stereotypes of Arabian Nights, they used to get the shock of their life. Leave Arabian or Night, the city was more modern than most of its counterparts in the Eastern Europe and Levant. And thus, the toughest part of any such itinerary used to be to look for the iconic Turkish cap, Fez. It was so difficult to find Fez that authors have penned entire travelogues describing their frustration about looking for Fez.

But Fez was nowhere to be seen. Banned by Ataturk himself, the cap died an undeserving death. But it did not die with a whimper.

Cities after cities rebelled against the ban. Hundreds of Mullahs were hanged. Konya, Izmir, Istanbul; you name it. In other circumstances, Turks would not have stopped at that. They are not a race to be tames so easily. However, battered by First World War and humiliated with the demise of Caliphate, Turks agreed to the change (a few actually lapped up eagerly also). Fez’s epitaph was written. Only whirling Dervishes- that too in the confines of their mosques and prayer halls- were allowed to use it.   

Slowly, as decades went by, the common man forgot Fez. Worse, it was attached to conservatism and backwardness and average Turk, when asked about Fez, used to frown upon it. The industry died natural death. Fez weavers became workless and shifted to other jobs.

It was therefore heartening and nostalgic at the same time to see Fez making an appearance in Istanbul. It is not to imply that AKP has pushed the country back to the era of Fez and that people have started supporting it. Nothing like that. In fact, it is still easier to spot a Dodo in Indonesia that to spot a Turk wearing a Fez, but at least now you have them in souvenir shops. And more than anything, they now proudly support the picture of Ataturk and the emblem of Turkey: New moon with a lone star in white on a red background.

Fez’s equally detested sister, Hizab, though not thoroughly banned anytime in the history, has also returned big time. And unlike Fez, women are sporting it to exert their identity. It will not be an exaggeration to say that old Istanbul have now equal numbers of women sporting Hizab and otherwise. The appearance might be deceptive too as millions of Iranian tourists swell that number, but there is a distinct rise in Turks wearing Hizab.

The best thing AK party did in its tenure is that it detached appearance with ideology. It told the west, in as many words, that not all those who wear Hizab are conservative and not all bare-back girls are modern. The West, naturally had difficulties in accepting that as it was the West and not Turkey that made rules of engagements earlier. But with buoyant economy and stable democracy in decades, Turkey has made economically crippled West accept its line of thought. It has become more confident. It knows that unlike in the days of Kemalists, it does not need to keep proving its secular credentials when Christian Democrats and Right Wing Parties won elections after elections in Europe. The turkey of today is more confident of its stature. While the likes of France and Denmark are still reeling with problems emancipating form attaching a particular gear or dress with a particular ideology; Turkey has moved ahead.