What should you wear in Jordan?
Jordan is a Muslim country that requires you to dress respectfully. However, sometimes this can be challenging in a warm climate such as Jordan. So what should you wear?
In England I wouldn’t think twice about showing my knees and shoulders, but these are some of the things you need to think about when going to a Muslim country like Jordan.
I made sure all my dresses were loose, and below the knee – the kind of considerations you’d make if you were going to church.
I’m usually the kind of person that leaves packing until the very last minute. But I made this mistake in Morocco and ended up wearing the same jeans and t-shirt for most of my trip because I felt too self-conscious that I was showing too much skin and I didn’t want to make the same mistake in Jordan.
This time I asked myself a few questions as I did my packing:
- Is this item cool and comfortable for hot weather?
- Does this skirt or dress fall on or below the knee?
- Does this item cover my shoulders?
- Is this item made of from breathable material, particularly if I want to go hiking?
Does Jordan have a conservative dress code?
After spending a few days in Jordan, it became clear that the conservative dress code wasn’t as strict as I imagined it would be.
It was different to Marrakech, the Jordanian people seem a lot more relaxed about how westerners can dress. They don’t expect you to be covered head-to-toe. After all, when the weather is hot, you need to be comfortable. The main thing I would suggest is to cover your shoulders and chest.
If you are prone to getting hot, I suggest slinging a shawl over your shoulder. My friend, Elsa, did that and not only did she stay relatively cool, she looked stylish too.
If you want to wear shorts that are slightly above knee length, you can without the risk of offending anyone.
Many Jordanian men wear Western-style clothing such as jeans, trousers, shirts, and T-shirts.
Similarly, women in urban areas such as Amman often wear a mix of Western-style clothing and traditional attire. This can include jeans, skirts, dresses, and blouses. regardless of their choice of clothing, may choose to wear a hijab or headscarf.
Traditional clothing in Jordan
Jordanian’s love to show you their culture, and one way to immerse yourself in the county’s culture is by following their dress code and style. My friends and I learnt about traditional Bedouin clothing, henna tattoos, accessories, and even down to how they apply their make-up!
Men wear make-up too!
While I was in Petra, a Bedouin man showed me how they create make-up using from natural ingredients from the ground.
We watched in amazement as he picked up a stone from the ground, and rubbed it together to create bronzer. He then applied it to our faces. The end resulted looked more like tribal face paint but I wasn’t going to start talking about the importance of blending or conturing with him. That would be rude!
He then revealed to us how they extract sap from the trees to make eyeliner. My mind was blown. I’ve been spending money on eye-liner for eyes for years, while Bedouins are doing it for free. (I really need to start becoming more self-sufficient!)
To back his claim, the Bedouin took me to a tree, peeled back a section of bark enough to reveal a cloudy coloured growth of resin.
He said resin is taken from the tree, then burnt to make the kohl that is used for around the eyes. The Kohl is then collected in a little ornamental jar with a tiny wand applicator.
He said that most fashion-conscious men carry a little jar around with them in their jean’s pocket. I laughed in surprise. So ladies, next time you see a Bedouin man with with beautifully dark eyes, don’t be too jealous. He may have had some help 😉
Wearing Bedouin clothing
I love the head scarves worn by many Bedouins and Arab men, traditionally known as the Keffiyehs. They are designed to protect the head and face from sun exposure and sand caused by the wind. This is especially important for desert life.
They’re also useful to wear as a shawl for the days when it’s too hot to wear long-sleeved tops, so during our trip we adopted this style several times.
Some of the women wear do wearing niqabs, and Elsa got the chance to try one on, complete with stunning accessories.
Bedouin impersonator
On one occasion, unbeknown to me, the owner of our hostel took my boyfriend to one side and dressed him head-to-toe in Bedouin clothing so only his eyes were revealed.
The little trickster sat near me for fifteen minutes without me realising. The penny only dropped when he got up to dance to Arabic music. Indeed, his dance moves are so bad that they cannot be mistaken for anyone else. LOL.
With his face now revealed, we had a sing-a-long with the Bedouins!
Final impressions
As you can tell from my post, people in Jordan are friendly, and want you to have a good time. My advice about what to wear is simple: be practical, comfortable and respectful.
If you follow these three rules then you have nothing at all to worry about!
Covering up doesn’t have to mean being conservative.
Planning a trip to Jordan? Take a look at my 1-week Jordan travel itinerary including Petra, Wadi Rum, Amman, Jerash and the Dead Sea.
13 Responses
LOVE the last picture. The outfit is fab. Great post xx
Thank you Jen! The dress is just from Urban Outfitters! X
YOU look Beautiful in your Urdu outfit !! If you had to answer this in your honest opinion what would it be.
Do you like the rules they have in jordan? Also, Do you like Men having more than 1 wife ?
Did you follow a tour or go through a company? Your trip sounds ideal! I’m dying to go so any information on how you planned it would be much appreciated! Thanks 🙂
Hey Arielle (I love your name btw!) No I didn’t go through a tour or company, to save huge amounts of money, I always book my flights and accommodation separately! On this day we hired a guide who also worked at the hotel (Rocky Mountain Hotel) and he took us on a little hike through Little Petra – very affordable. Jordan is a very small country, so you can cover many places and experience a lot in just a few days!
If you would like more information I will be happy to provide as much detail as possible!
Safety comes first: so please book your trip with a LICENSED tour company in Jordan. Without a license number tour companies or guides are not permitted to organize any trips with tourists.
I’d love to visit Jordan some day. It’s never really a place people often say they go, so I love this post.
Your comment must have gone unnoticed Charlotte! I hope you get the chance to go soon, it’s unbelievable and the people are incredibly hospitable!
Visited Petra and Wadi Rum with family a few months ago . I loved it and the Bedouins are so hospitable and nice . Always book a tour guide and be sure to ride the horses or camels into Petra .
Hi Marie! Sorry for the late reply, I’ve only just seen your comment. It’s great to read that you and your family loved Petra and Wadi Rum too. The hospitality of the Bedouins is something we can all admire and learn from!
I’ m ethnically Bedouin and I practice some of the traditions that my ancestors had, what you wrote makes me proud! thank you so much. and the make up thing made me laugh, maybe it’s practiced by some tribes but not all haha.
It’s so nice to hear from you Enad! You must be so proud of your heritage!
Haha, thanks for adding more information about the ‘make up’, indeed, it’s not practised by all. I think age and vanity play a big role too?
Happy New Year!
thank you!
yes I agree! I think you entered the heritage and the traditions so deep haha
what I wanted to say is that I find it so interesting that you were moving within the tribes in Jordan, I really find it great experience.