Friday Shoe History Corner: Kabkab

posted by: shoesense in Shoe History Corner on February 2nd, 2007

turkish-stilts.jpg

‘Stilted wooden sandals inlaid with mother-of-pearl like this nalin (also called kabkab) were commonly worn by women throughout the Ottoman Empire at public bathhouses to protect their feet from the heated and wet floors.’ This pair is about 10 inches high and dates from the 19th century. Courtesy of The Bata Shoe Museum.

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4 Responses to “Friday Shoe History Corner: Kabkab”

  1. March 04, 2010 at 3:56 am, Darrell Madere said:

    I have a old pair of these shoes called kabkabs they look like they were well woren they have mother of perl with a cloth strap and some metal that is inlayed in them if anyone is intrested in buying them please call Darrell @ (504) 274 6811

    Reply

  2. May 15, 2008 at 2:57 am, jacqui robson said:

    hello, i have a pair of these kabkab shoes, with mother of pearl pattern, i bought them in a second hand shop (thrift). are they worth any thing ?

    Reply

  3. December 31, 2007 at 2:49 pm, Walk This Way at the MFA Boston | ShoeBlog said:

    [...] is a pair of Turkish or Syrian kabkabs next to Claude Monet’s painting of his wife in Japanese costume, La [...]

    Reply

  4. Shomore

    February 03, 2007 at 4:36 am, JoyC said:

    Goodness!!! I can’t imagine how anyone was able to walk around in these.

    Reply

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