Tunisian Chechia Cap
The chechia is the traditional red felt cap of Tunisia, worn by men since the early modern period and regarded as a national emblem of the country. Its production was long a chain of specialized workshops: wool was combed, spun and knitted into a raw cap, then fulled with water and heat at sites such as El Battan on the Medjerda river, dyed crimson with madder or similar dyes, and finally stretched and finished over wooden moulds in Tunis. The craft flourished with the arrival of Andalusian Morisco artisans at the start of the 17th century, and their guild became so influential that a whole qu