How do the people of Saudi Arabia dress for the heat?

Answer 1

These days, air-conditioning is abundant in homes and transportation, so it's not that much of an issue.

Traditionally, though, there are two parts to the answer:

1) Within a town or city, it was more about building for the heat. Homes were closely packed so that allies and streets were all in the shade. The materials used in building were indigenous to the region (clay, rocks, limestone, coral rock, etc) were typically insulating and felt cool to the touch in the heat, warm in the cold.

2) Moving outside the city for trade or hunting (mainly male activities) was were clothing really played a role, and here's a breakdown (most still worn today) :

- The "thoub" is like a loose-fitting robe, light and breezy to help keep the person cool. It's typically white or beige cotton (cotton/polyester these days) in the hot seasons (the color it reflective of sunlight), and dark brown, navy or black wool in the winter (absorbs sunlight). Note that the white color is also culturally/religiously relevant.

- The "ghutrah" is the light cloth worn on the head, typically white (see above), but a "shmagh" could have a different colored pattern, typically red. This covers the head and back of the neck, and the loose part can also be used to protect the face from dust or sand storms (material is thin and breathable).

- The "'igal" is a relatively "heavy" weaved ring that is placed on the head to hold down the "ghutrah" and prevent it from being carried away by the wind. Traditionally it wasn't colored, so it was typically white or off-white, then came the golden variety as a status symbol, and these days it's typically black, probably as a contrast to all the white.

Of course, cultural and environmental factors always meld in these cases, so there're some cultural aspects as well.

Women's outdoors clothing was designed for inner city movement (to the market/mosque or to visit a neighbor) and were typically removed once the person was indoors in a place without non-"mahram"s (religious reasons regarding hijab), so the main concern was avoiding short periods of exposure to the sun's rays rather than the heat factor. The clothes were loose fitting and light (both for cooling and religious reasons), and originally of light natural colors but more recently black (more of a local cultural move, as other Islamic cultures do not stick to black). As such, when women moved between cities, they generally did so in a "hawdaj" (a covered mode of transport, most basically just a support frame and cover cloth placed on the horse or camel), while men rode without cover (there clothes were better suited for direct sunlight and they also had the jobs or leading the covered animals and of being lookouts for any trouble, such as storms or marauders).