The bisht is a garment which a Saudi male will wear over his thobe.  This is a regal looking garment that can range from white to a deep dark brown in color and bordered with trim which is typically made of authentic gold thread.  The Saudi male will wear the bisht at formal, official and special occasions.  Such occasions include weddings, engagement parties, Eid, official functions.  The bisht in essence takes the place of the suit jacket...:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

According to wikipedia, the bisht is described as:  a traditional Arabic men's cloak popular in the Persian Gulf and some Arab countries. It is essentially a flowing outer cloak made of wool, worn over the thobe. Unlike the thobe, the Bisht is soft, and it is usually black, brown, beige, cream or grey in colour. It is usually only worn for prestige on special occasions such as weddings, or festivals such as Eid, or for the Friday prayer."  Yet even in this description it does not explain why the bisht is one as it is.

This aspect of the bisht is one that continues to puzzle me.  Typical of a loose flowing robe, the bisht has two sleeves.  Yet one will always see the Saudi male wearing the bisht with one arm through the sleeve in the traditional manner and the other sleeve is wrapped loosely and tucked in to the side.  I have asked a number of Saudis why the bisht is worn in this manner and the most common response is "because that's the way it is."

I do think the style of the bisht and how it is worn does indeed look very distinguishing but I just would like an answer so I can understand why if a garment is made with two sleeves only one is used for all practical purposes?  And for the record, wearing the bisht in this manner is not isolated just to Saudis but this is the style and tradition throughout the Arab world.