A Turkish cap is an informal cap worn by men in Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

, where it is referred to as hacı takkesi ("pilgrim's cap"). It is mostly associated with religious, rural and older
men. The Turkish cap is made of cotton fleece or a wool blend. Traditional caps have a zig-zag pattern, and a pom-pom on top. Some caps are plain. The cap is worn with the seam facing
the ear. Wearing the seam at the back of the head is improper and uncomfortable.

The cap is worn by Muslims in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 of all ethnicities. In the United States, the cap is sold as a Turki koofi, Turkish kufi, or Islamic knit cap.

West Africa

In West Africa

West Africa

West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...

, the Turkish cap is worn by people of all religious faiths including, Christians, Muslims, and African Jews

African Jews

Some Jewish communities in Africa are among the oldest in the world, dating back more than 2700 years. African Jews have ethnic and religious diversity and richness. African Jewish communities include:...

. Along with a variety of caps (such as the Fez) the Turkish cap is worn as a variant of the Muslim Taqiyah

Taqiyah (cap)

The taqiyah is a short, rounded cap worn by some observant Muslim men. When worn by itself, the taqiyah can be any color. When worn under the keffiyah scarf, it is always white. Some Muslims wrap the turban around the cap. The turban is called an imama in Arabic...

, in religious obligation to cover the head. Senegalese writer and filmmaker Ousmane Sembène

Ousmane Sembène

Ousmane Sembène , often credited in the French style as Sembène Ousmane in articles and reference works, was a Senegalese film director, producer and writer...

 and Guinea-Bissau

Guinea-Bissau

The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west....

 revolutionary leader Amílcar Cabral

Amílcar Cabral

Amílcar Lopes da Costa Cabral was a Guinea-Bissauan and Cape Verdean agricultural engineer, writer, and a nationalist thinker and politician. Also known by his nom de guerre Abel Djassi, Cabral led the nationalist movement of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde Islands and the ensuing war of independence...

 frequent sporting of the hat added to its popularity worldwide in the 1970s. In West Africa it is often associated with religious leaders, rural notables, urban shopkeepers, members of the Mouride

Mouride

The Mouride brotherhood is a large Islamic Sufi order most prominent in Senegal and The Gambia, with headquarters in the holy city of Touba, Senegal...

 brotherhood, and the Fula people

Fula people

Fula people or Fulani or Fulbe are an ethnic group spread over many countries, predominantly in West Africa, but found also in Central Africa and Sudanese North Africa...

External links

• A photo of a traditional Turkish cap. Notice that the seam is facing the ear.
• A photo of a plain Turkish cap.
• A photo of a naming ceremony in The Gambia, West Africa
• Another photo of the naming ceremony
• Turkish cap examples

Further reading

• Michael Palin, Sahara (Thomas Dunne Books 2003). A DVD was produced showing his travels in Senegal
  Senegal
  Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
  
  , Mali
  Mali
  Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
  
  , and Niger
  Niger
  Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
  
  . In many scenes in the DVD, West Africans are wearing Turkish caps.