Clothing in Jordan is a language, and understanding a few of its basic vocabularies helps you navigate the country more comfortably and respectfully. This guide covers traditional Jordanian dress for both men and women, explains the specific symbolism of the keffiyeh — a garment that has been simultaneously a marker of Bedouin identity, a symbol of Palestinian resistance, and a fashion item adopted globally — and gives practical guidance on what tourists should wear in different settings.
Men’s traditional dress
The keffiyeh (hatta)
The keffiyeh is a square piece of cotton fabric, typically 127 cm × 127 cm, worn as a headscarf by men across the Arab world. In Jordan and across much of the Arabian Peninsula, it is worn folded diagonally into a triangle and draped over the head in various styles — either falling freely on both sides, folded up on one side, or wrapped and knotted in a turban-like style specific to certain regions.
Colour and pattern are significant:
The red-and-white keffiyeh, called the hatta in Jordan, is specifically Jordanian. The red-and-white check pattern is associated with the Hashemite Kingdom and is worn by Jordanian men — from Bedouin tribesman to government minister — as an expression of national identity. The red colour is sometimes said to have been adopted from the traditional dress of the Levant Arab troops or from Bedouin tribal patterns; the origin stories vary.
The black-and-white keffiyeh is associated with Palestinian identity. It was popularised internationally through its adoption by Yasser Arafat, who wore it as a symbol of Palestinian national struggle from the 1960s onward. In Jordan, wearing the black-and-white keffiyeh signals solidarity with the Palestinian cause — many Jordanians of Palestinian descent wear it for exactly this reason. Both colours are present in Amman’s streets and carry no conflict in Jordanian society, where Palestinian-Jordanians and Transjordanians coexist.
For tourists purchasing a keffiyeh as a souvenir: both patterns are sold widely in Amman’s souvenir shops and in the markets around Petra and the tourist sites. Wearing one as a tourist is generally accepted — Jordanians are not bothered by tourists in keffiyehs — though you should understand what you are wearing. The red-and-white is the safer Jordanian purchase; the black-and-white carries Palestinian political symbolism that may or may not be what you intend to express.
The agal
The agal is the black cord or rope placed over the keffiyeh to hold it in position. Traditionally made from camel hair or goat hair twisted into a double-loop rope, modern agals are typically machine-made. The agal is placed around the circumference of the head and sits in the groove where the keffiyeh is folded.
Not all men wear the agal — some prefer the keffiyeh without it, flowing freely. Among Bedouin men, the agal is standard dress. Among urban Jordanians, wearing the keffiyeh without the agal (in a looser, more casual style) is common.
The agal has a secondary traditional function: in desert conditions, it could be removed and used as a hobble for a camel. This practical origin has been largely forgotten but is part of the object’s history.
The thobe
The thobe (also dishdasha or kandura in Gulf Arabic) is a long, loose robe — ankle-length or floor-length — worn by men throughout the Arab world. In Jordan, the thobe is standard dress for religious occasions, formal events, and daily wear in more traditional or rural communities. In urban Amman, it is less common on a daily basis than Western clothing (shirt and trousers) but appears at Friday prayers, weddings, and Eid celebrations.
The Jordanian thobe is typically white (for summer) or dark (black, brown, or navy — for winter). The cut is straightforward: a straight-seam garment with long sleeves and a small collar or neckline. Quality is indicated by the fineness of the fabric (cotton poplin for summer, wool or heavier cotton for winter) and the quality of the embroidery if any is present.
The bisht
The bisht is a cloak worn over the thobe on formal and celebratory occasions. It is a wide, loose outer garment open at the front, typically made from dark wool (black, dark brown, or dark blue) with gold or silver embroidered trim along the edges. The bisht is the garment of authority and ceremony — government ministers, tribal sheikhs, and religious figures wear it on important occasions.
You will not typically see the bisht in everyday Jordanian life unless you attend a formal event or ceremony. It appears at state occasions, major weddings, and at some of the organised Bedouin cultural experiences in Wadi Rum.
Women’s traditional and contemporary dress
Women’s dress in Jordan varies enormously by family background, religious practice, age, and context. There is no single “Jordanian women’s dress” — the spectrum runs from fully covered (niqab, full body covering) in the most conservative communities to entirely Western clothing in the most liberal urban contexts.
The abaya
The abaya is a loose, full-length outer garment worn over ordinary clothes. In Jordan, it is most commonly black, though coloured and embroidered abayas have become fashionable in recent years. The abaya is the standard modest outer garment for observant Muslim women who cover in public.
Not all Jordanian women wear the abaya. In Amman’s middle-class and upper-class neighbourhoods, many women dress in Western-style clothing without covering. In rural and more conservative areas, the abaya is much more common. This variation reflects the genuine diversity of Jordanian society.
Hijab
The hijab — a headscarf covering the hair, neck and chest — is worn by a significant proportion of Jordanian women, including many who do not wear the abaya. Hijab styles in Jordan follow current regional fashion trends; the simple wrapped cotton scarf has been largely replaced among younger women by more elaborate styles with volume, pattern, and matching accessories.
Regional variations
Traditional dress varies by region in Jordan:
In the south (Petra area, Wadi Rum), women from Bedouin communities wear colourful embroidered dresses over the abaya for special occasions. The embroidery (tatriz) is a significant craft tradition — patterns vary by tribe and region and can indicate origin to those who know how to read them.
In the Palestinian-origin communities (the largest demographic in Amman and the major cities), Palestinian embroidered dress (thobe Falastini) is worn at cultural events and by older women on a regular basis. The embroidery patterns encode geographic and family identity.
What tourists should wear
Jordan is a Muslim-majority country and conservative dress is respectful in most contexts. However, the requirements are not as strict as in Saudi Arabia, and Jordan’s tourist infrastructure is generally comfortable with Western dress in tourist areas.
In Amman: Women can wear Western clothes, including tops that show the arms, in the tourist-oriented neighbourhoods (Jabal Amman, Rainbow Street, Abdoun). In Downtown Amman, a more conservative approach (covered shoulders) is more comfortable. Men wear whatever they wish without issue.
At religious sites (mosques, Christian churches): Both men and women should have covered shoulders and covered legs (below the knee). Women who do not cover their hair may be asked to do so at mosque entrances — scarves are usually lent at the entrance. Remove shoes before entering mosques.
At Petra: The site is outdoors and the dress code is not enforced, but long trousers or a long skirt protects against sunburn on the long walks. Shorts are worn by many tourists without issue.
At Wadi Rum: The Bedouin camps in Wadi Rum are the most conservative context in the typical tourist itinerary. Covered arms and legs are respectful when interacting with community members, even if shorts and t-shirts are worn during jeep tours.
At the Dead Sea and Aqaba: Swimming areas (hotel pools, Red Sea dive boats, Dead Sea beaches) are the exception — swimwear is completely normal and expected. In the public areas between these swimming zones, return to conservative dress.
Buying a keffiyeh in Jordan
Keffiyehs are sold at every souvenir shop in Jordan — from the stalls at the Petra Visitor Centre to the shops of Downtown Amman to the market at the Roman Theatre. Prices range from 5 JOD for a machine-made cotton version to 20–35 JOD for higher-quality versions.
The craft tradition of hand-spinning and weaving keffiyehs from Palestine (the Hirbawi factory in Hebron is the last traditional keffiyeh factory in Palestine) is different from the mass-produced version sold in tourist shops. If you want a keffiyeh that supports traditional craftsmanship, look specifically for hand-woven versions rather than the cheaper machine-made alternatives.
A keffiyeh purchased in Jordan is a practical and culturally appropriate souvenir — it is genuinely useful as sun protection, as warmth in a cool evening, and as a dust cover in a sandstorm. It is also a piece of living culture rather than a mass-produced tourist object.
The keffiyeh in international context
The keffiyeh has had a complex and sometimes contentious international life as a fashion item. Its adoption by Western fashion designers and celebrities in the 2000s caused significant debate — accusations of cultural appropriation were made, particularly regarding the black-and-white Palestinian version. This debate continues.
In Jordan itself, Jordanians wearing their traditional garments do not typically concern themselves with what tourists or Western fashion designers do with the keffiyeh pattern. The garment is living and in active use, not a museum artifact. Wearing one as a tourist in Jordan is not an appropriation issue in any practical sense; wearing a cheap-fashion keffiyeh bought at a Western clothing chain is a different conversation.
Walking tour and cultural context
Amman city walking tour: local culture, hidden places & foodThe hidden gems walking tour of Amman provides neighbourhood context that illuminates how dress varies across the city — the traditional areas where the thobe is daily wear alongside the cosmopolitan neighbourhoods where Western dress dominates. This kind of lived observation of dress culture, in context, is more informative than any description.
Embroidery and craft traditions
Jordanian embroidery — tatriz — is one of the country’s most important material cultural traditions. The embroidery patterns used by Jordanian and Palestinian women encode geographic origin, tribal affiliation, and family identity in ways that are legible to those who know the visual vocabulary.
The Palestinian embroidery tradition is the most elaborate: the thobe Falastini (Palestinian embroidered dress) uses silk thread in geometric patterns of extraordinary complexity, with specific patterns associated with specific villages. Bethlehem embroidery differs from Hebron embroidery; Ramallah embroidery is distinct from Jaffa embroidery. Women from Palestinian families in Jordan still produce and wear these dresses at cultural events and family celebrations, maintaining a living connection to their geographic origins.
Jordanian Bedouin embroidery on women’s dresses (particularly from the south — Karak, Tafilah, the Petra area) uses geometric patterns in a different style, typically with bolder blocks of colour and less fine-detail work than the Palestinian tradition. The distinction is visible to experts; to most tourists, both appear as colourful, intricate embroidery.
The Jordan River Foundation operates several shops in Amman that sell embroidery produced by Jordanian women’s cooperatives, providing income to communities while maintaining the craft tradition. The prices are higher than souvenir-shop embroidery but the quality and social benefit are substantially different.
How dress reflects Jordan’s cultural diversity
One of the most immediately noticeable things about walking through central Amman is the visual diversity of dress. Within a single city block in Jabal Amman, you may pass: a woman in full niqab and gloves, a woman in jeans and a tank top, a man in Western business clothes, a man in a thobe and agal, a young woman in a modest abaya with a fashionable draped hijab, and a foreign tourist in shorts. All of these people are living and working in the same city without particular friction.
This diversity is not accidental. Jordan’s population is a complex mix of Transjordanian communities with Bedouin heritage, Palestinian communities that make up roughly half the population, Christian minorities (approximately 5%), Circassian and Chechen communities (descendants of refugees from the Caucasus who arrived in the 19th century), Iraqi refugee communities, and Syrian refugees from the most recent displacement. Each community has its own dress traditions and its own relationship to Islamic modesty norms.
The Circassian women’s traditional dress — which appears at cultural festivals and national celebrations — is entirely distinct from the Arab Palestinian or Bedouin dress traditions: colourful, heavily embroidered, with specific headwear that reflects North Caucasian rather than Arab heritage. Seeing a Circassian cultural group in traditional dress at a Jordanian national event alongside Bedouin men in thobes and agals alongside Palestinian women in embroidered dresses is a visual reminder of the country’s layered history.
Understanding this diversity helps visitors interpret what they see on the street without projecting a single narrative onto a complex reality.
Shopping for clothing and textiles in Jordan
Beyond the keffiyeh, the most interesting textile purchases in Jordan include:
Embroidered cushion covers and bags: Less expensive than a full embroidered dress but using the same patterns and techniques. Available at the Jordan River Foundation shops and at some market stalls in Madaba and Petra.
Woven textiles from RSCN reserves: The Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature operates craft shops at the Dana Biosphere Reserve and Wadi Rum visitor facilities, selling woven rugs, bags, and clothing produced by local communities. The quality is consistently good and the price reflects genuine production costs.
Dead Sea cosmetics: Not clothing but relevant to any shopping discussion — Dead Sea mineral products (mud masks, salts, creams) are sold throughout Jordan. The Jordan-produced versions are generally authentic; the quality and price vary enormously between tourist-trap shops (very overpriced) and supermarkets or pharmacies (much better value for the same products).
Ceramics from Madaba: Madaba is also a craft centre for hand-painted ceramics in the Byzantine mosaic tradition — the same visual vocabulary as the famous mosaic map, applied to plates, tiles, and bowls. Authentic production workshops are visible from the street; mass-produced versions flood the tourist shops near the Greek church.
FAQ
Is it compulsory for tourist women to cover their heads in Jordan?
No — outside mosques and other specifically religious sites, head covering is not compulsory for non-Muslim visitors. At mosque entrances, a scarf is usually provided for those who do not have one.
Can men wear shorts in Jordan?
In tourist areas (Petra, Wadi Rum, Dead Sea, Aqaba beach), yes. In conservative residential neighbourhoods, in rural areas, and at religious sites, long trousers are more respectful.
Where can I buy traditional Jordanian embroidery?
The Jordan River Foundation shops in Amman sell embroidery produced by Jordanian women’s cooperatives, with a portion of proceeds supporting community programmes. More commercial versions are available at every souvenir shop. The Jordan River Foundation option is more expensive but supports genuine craft production.
What do the different keffiyeh folding styles mean?
Different folding styles are associated with different regions, occasions, and personal preferences rather than having a fixed code. The hatta with agal (the circular rope holding it in place) is the formal style. Without the agal, the hatta can be worn folded over one shoulder, wrapped loosely, or folded back. There is no strict rule; ask a Jordanian guide if you want to know what a specific style signals in a specific context.