As part of the weekly initiative “Discover the Heritage with Maria from the Qatari books, activist on social sites Maria Fernanda Delerio, who is living in Qatar, presented a new episode about Qatari books to introduce the Qatari heritage in various fields. This week, she chose the book “Henna is the adornment of women in the Gulf” by the Writer Saleh Gharib.
Maria highlighted that among the distinguishing characteristics of the Arab woman is her elegance, the way she cares about herself and her appearance, which mainly relies on three important elements which are Kohl, Henna and traditional Arab perfumes, noting that the writer, Mr. Saleh Gharib, takes us through his book on a tour of the history, types, characteristics and differences of henna from one country to another, and how women adorn it as the first step to celebrate the most important decisions in life, which is marriage.
She emphasized that Henna has an important meaning for Arab women, especially Qatari women, and they devote one night during marriage ceremonies to Henna, where family and friends gather around the bride and decorate her with Henna before the wedding night, and the wearing of Henna is not limited to the hands but on the legs as well.
Henna was known as one of the plants that was imported in the past from India or Yemen and is now available in Qatar. This plant is dried and then grinded until it becomes a powder in a distinctive color and is mixed with water and lemon to make it a more beautiful color before it is engraved.
She indicated that henna has spread widely around the world in recent years, but the way it is engraved and decorated in Arab countries is still more distinguished by its unique designs and drawings that reflect the heritage and traditions.
For Arab perfumes, they are not like other perfumes spread around the world that are sprayed on the body from a close distance, so the Arab perfume is in the form of oil, where a small quantity is placed on the body directly, and since the Arab culture is based on sharing, perfumes are shared through the sprinkler in which water, flowers and perfume are placed and sprayed on guests and friends.

She emphasized that among the characteristics of Arab women is the beauty of their eyes and the eye makeup that they put on, which mainly depends on the kohl that makes them unique and clearly refers to their culture and home,
Kohl is a powder that is placed in a small-sized flacon consisting of two copper-colored pieces with a traditional art form called Al Makhala, the upper first piece is long, sharp and smooth, which is passed between the eyelids so that the kohl is imprinted on them smoothly.
Maria concluded the session by saying that Arab culture and heritage accompany women in their daily life and in all their special occasions.