Traditional dress of Lebanon

The exquisite culture of Lebanon is the product of its diverse population belonging to different ethnic and religious groups who have inhabited over here for thousands of years. Lebanon is considered the gem of the Middle East and it has been dominated by the greatest human civilizations of the lovely planet like the Roman, Persian, Greek, Arab, Ottoman, and the most recent French. Currently, the people of Lebanon are very modern and perhaps Lebanon is the most fashionable country in the Arab world. The traditional and cultural clothing in daily life is very hard to find these days in modern Lebanon.

The Lebanese dancers wearing traditional costumes 

In the urban areas, the people are usually seen in the Western outfits of the latest fashion, however, in the countryside, women sometimes wear traditional colorful skirts and men wear a traditional serwal or sherwal (baggy trousers).

The traditional dress of a Lebanese man and woman

The sherwal is the existing and the surviving traditional dress of Lebanon which is the most prevalent and practical garment among villagers and mountain people. The common people of Lebanon also use the labbade, an ancient headdress which may have been worn as long ago as Phoenician times. The women of Lebanon traditionally used to wear the headdresses like the woolen scarf, silky veils or silver coned tantour.  The scarf and veil can be observed today but the tantour has become obsolete.

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A Lebanese countryman in his traditional costume (

Other traditional Lebanese outfits include Kurban, Abaya, Abba, Jubbe and Gambaz.  The Kubran was an ancient Lebanese dress and lost its existence today. On the other side, the Abaya cloak has maintained its significance being utilitarian. The abaya is a rectangular overcoat worn by men, or it may be the outer garment of certain Muslim women.

A wonderful Lebanese dancer group in traditional outfits 

The Druze people of Lebanon used to wear which a short sleeved and a knee-length coat that was particularly used by men. Similarly, Jubbe was the most common among the Bedouin community of Lebanon which is a hip-length jacket with no collar and no fastenings.

The Lebanese men wearing traditional outfits

Gambaz is an ornamental dress which is prepared with expensive materials like velvet, brocade and shiny silk. The gambaz often has a low neckline for décolletage which is accepted among married women since the bosom is considered the symbol of maternity. Kab kab is the traditional footwear of Lebanon; a simple clog shoe which is commonly in use even today.

Due to the multiple cultural dominations, the people of Lebanon are suffering from the exact national identification. Apart from this issue, the traditional and the cultural values of this country are awesome that can be observed in the festivals, ceremonies, and folk presentations. The traditional dress of Lebanon is used mostly by the people belonging to the performing art and nowadays it is the integral costume for the folk singers and dancers.

Lebanese women dancing in a ceremony ( Image: agbu )