Yashmak

Structure and design

Unlike simple veils, the yashmak brings together head and facial coverings into a single arrangement. It traditionally uses two distinct lengths of delicate muslin cloth. One strip wraps across the bridge of the nose and fastens beneath it, while the second piece binds over the forehead and falls gently over the hair. Some styles incorporate a peçe, which is a stiff rectangular screen of woven black horsehair pinned near the temples that projects forward to screen the face. Other variations feature fine lace with tailored eye slits, secured by ties and occasionally propped at the nose with a gold ornament.

The Ottoman era

During the nineteenth century under the Ottoman Empire, the yashmak underwent major stylistic shifts. By the 1860s, wealthy urban women began wearing sheer, transparent muslins that softened facial features rather than concealing them completely. Period photographs taken in Istanbul and portraits by nineteenth-century painters, including Jean-Léon Gérôme and Théodore Jacques Ralli, captured this lighter fashion among elite ladies in Constantinople. In contrast, rural working women and peasants remained bound by stricter customs, continuing to wear opaque coverings that shielded their faces entirely from public view.

Decline and living practice

Social transformations across the twentieth century led to the rapid disappearance of the yashmak in North Africa and the Levant. In Egypt, feminist advocates such as Huda Sha'arawi led campaigns in the 1920s that encouraged women to set aside facial veils. Similar reforms in Turkey and Morocco resulted in the garment falling out of everyday use. Today, it has virtually vanished from Turkish and Egyptian life. However, the custom survives in Turkmenistan, where some married women continue to cover their mouths and faces around senior members of their husband's family as a traditional gesture of deference.

How Yashmak is kept

To wear a classic yashmak, a woman secures a strip of fine muslin across her face just under the eyes and nose, tying it firmly behind the head. A second piece of muslin is placed over the forehead and draped down to envelop the hair and shoulders. Some versions add a horsehair visor or lace insert. Today in Turkmenistan, married women put on this covering when entering rooms or spaces occupied by their husband's senior kin, keeping the lower face concealed during interactions.

When and where

Historically, women wore the yashmak whenever stepping out into public streets or public gatherings. In modern Turkmen culture, it is worn during daily family encounters specifically when interacting with elder in-laws.

The garment was once widespread across urban and rural centres of the Ottoman Empire, particularly in Turkey and Egypt, with presence in Morocco. Today, its living practice is concentrated among Turkmen communities in Turkmenistan.

What Yashmak means

In historical Ottoman society, the yashmak marked public modesty, while its sheer nineteenth-century variations also communicated social class and cosmopolitan status. In Turkmen family tradition, covering the lower face serves as an enduring sign of respect, modesty and courtesy toward elder relatives of a woman's husband.

Questions people ask about Yashmak

See also

Traditional tattooingThe ancient custom of marking the skin for protection, healing, status and sacred ritesMoroccan kaftanA floor-length tunic worn by Moroccan women for weddings and celebrations, featuring heavy embroidery and rich textiles.KalpakA tall cap of Turkic peoples, thick for winter and wide and light for summerNiqabA face veil worn by some Muslim women, hiding all but the eyes

Good reading and sources

• Encyclopaedia BritannicaArticle

• Yashmak on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-06.