Jli — Kurdish Women's Dress

Kurdish women's dress is a festival of colour and embroidery. It is made of three layers: a long silk inner dress reaching the ankle — the kiras; over it a wide ornamented blouse with extremely long sleeves that fall from the wrist — the kolik; and a short waistcoat over both — the selte — embroidered in fine needlework with gold and silver thread. Colours and motifs vary by region: in Sulaymaniyah deep reds and blues dominate; in Afrîn green and orange come in; in Mahabad women wear white embroidered with red for weddings. The outfit is completed by the bûşe — an embroidered scarf falling from the crown of the head over the shoulders — and by heavy silver jewellery at the neck and wrists.