Probably because dark colors absorb the sun's heat. I don't know why you wouldn't want to wear it in 110 degree temperatures... Afterall, you see it all the time here in the desert... Good way to become a widower pretty quickly.



>Not to make a big deal out of what people wear but...
>
>Covering yourself with thin and light garment from the sun is one thing, but thick gloves and black coat?
>
>As I get older I don't wear shorts as much as I use to. I'm begining to prefer more light-colored-thin-cotton (linen or seersucker type) material. But certainly nothing close to black.
>
>
>
>>>The elderly woman, who was not named, wore thick gloves along with a headscarf and long black coat, meaning that Mr Ahmadinejad avoided any skin contact.
>>>
>>>Sheesh, I hope it was 20 degrees outside or else she's lucky she didn't faint from heat exhaustion!
>>
>>Hi Tracy
>>(I promise no politics in this post :)
>>
>>That is one of the things tha really boggled me for quiet some time.
>>
>>I live in Cyprus where temperature often reaches 40 degrees celsius in the summer. Many times I wld see Arab women being dressed top to bottom
>>Headscarf, not really coat but radengot, few times I saw even those with
>>face covered.
>>It looks scarry when you see it at 40c. First time I saw it, I got actually upset to the point that I nearly intercepted her husband to ask him;
>>How fair is to wear pair of shorts and t-shirt while his wife is equiped for space travel at 40c ??
>>It would be of course stupid thing to do, but I really felt like asking that question :)
>>
>>Later I meet in person meny people from that origin and learned/realised that this is simply part of their customs, religion, tradition, bringing up
>>but also HOT CLIMATE at the end aldough it migh sound absurd.
>>
>>We now mostly drive cars with aircons, working in airconditioned offices
>>etc so this might look strange to us, but as an ex-army officer you wld agree that crossing streach of desert or rocky mountains while wearing pair of shorts, sunglases and a flip-flops (as husband mentioned above) wld certainly kill you out there. Whereas wearing what they wear would protect you from being harmed by sun, wind dust, sand etc.
>>So it is not only religion it is also plain surviwal (historically speaking) behind that dress code.
>>
>>It is just that dress-code is changing somewhat slower there then in the rest of the world. How did our GranGrannies look? Now imagine them today walking dawn the shopping mall... :)