If you ever visit Syria (which I hope you do) and look in a guidebook, like Lonely Planet, you’ll probably see that they say something like this:

Syria is primarily a Muslim country….Women should dress modestly….Long sleeves, no shorts etc….

I like to look at guidebooks for countries I’ve been in, or in this case, live in. I was surprised for a minute when I read about dressing modestly here. Why? Because I’ve seen Syrian women in tank tops, miniskirts, tight pants and short dresses. I never really think about it being particularly “modest” here. There are women who wear anything from just a headscarf (hijab)(well not just a headscarf…ya know), to a full black robe (abya). Syria is very diverse when it comes to things like that.