Turkey: The Land of the Hijab and the Bikini

Alas, as a Turkish-American, I fear that tourists will opt to gaze upon the bodies of attractive young women in bikinis in the Greek island of Kos as opposed to the Turkish resort of Bodrum which is a mere three miles away from Kos, due to riots and unrest in Istanbul and other Turkish cities, including Ankara and Izmir.

Turkey is a land caught between the Hijab and the Bikini, and Islamist conservative Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose regime is at the center of the chaos, has manipulated his conservative base in central Anatolian cities, like Yozgat, Konya and Sivas, to counter the protests even as it is likely to further divide the country and cost Turkey millions of lost revenue in the tourism sector.

The BBC is reporting that a lone standing man who stood alone in silence in Taksim Square earlier in the day in Istanbul has become a symbol for the Turkish people in their collective stand against an oppressive government. He has been identified as 'The Standing Man of Istanbul."

With that in mind, we are looking at what exactly the definitions of the hijab and the bikini are, as well as the ever intriguing burqini fashion trend in the Muslim world, which we suspect might be popular along the beaches of Dubai and Algeria:

Hijab: A veil which covers the head which is particularly worn by a Muslim female beyond puberty in the presence of non-related adult males.

Bikini: This is a type of women's two-piece swimsuit designed to provide minimal coverage of the body. One part covers the breasts and the part that covers the groin and part or the entire buttocks.

Burqini: A swimsuit for Muslim women designed by Lebanese Australian Ahena Zametti. The suit covers the whole body, except the hands, feet and face,

http://www.kosinfo.gr/

http://www.bodrum.org

http://www.nocturnalguy38.blogspot.com (Our sister blog "The Daily Vampire" which features the same topic, but different text and images)