RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi kept a diplomatic fashion accessory on hand throughout a recent Mideast tour - an array of colorful scarves draped around her neck, ready to be pulled over her hair when Islamic custom required.
As it turned out, Pelosi needed to cover her head only once, when she visited a historic mosque in Damascus.
She slipped a silky white scarf with yellow flowers over her head and tied it under her chin as she entered the Omayyad Mosque on Tuesday.
She also pulled a black abaya robe, decorated with a gold-colored band across the front, over her lime-green pantsuit.
Female dignitaries visiting Mideast countries have to keep dress in mind in a way men don't. When out in public, particularly at religious sites, women politicians take care not to offend while trying to avoid cumbersome outfits.
In official settings it's less of a concern - no one expects Western women politicians to dress differently than they do at home.
In Saudi Arabia, the Mideast country with the strictest rules on female dress, Pelosi wore her flowered scarf loosely around her neck.
It remained just a subtle accessory as she visited the country's version of a legislature, the unelected Consultative Council.
Pelosi, who left the region on Friday, did make sure to stick to pantsuits in the kingdom - lavender when meeting King Abdullah and lime-green when touring the council. In far more secular Syria, she met with President Bashar Assad in a mid-length skirt.
In Lebanon, the Arab world's most liberal country, fashion-wise, Pelosi went without a scarf entirely - except for a white-and-turquoise one under her jacket as she paid her respects at the grave of former prime minister Rafik Hariri, who was assassinated in 2005.
2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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