Auguste Wahlen's nineteenth-century illustrations of Kurdish traditional dress feature a distinctive headpiece that is not seen today. Many Kurds are familiar with these images, yet no commentaries are given regarding this unusual headwear. The Kurdish warrior depicted on the left wears an archaic form of the kleta, designed to cover and protect the ears from harsh winter weather. Its presence offers a glimpse into older forms of Kurdish dress that have largely disappeared from living memory.
Guillaume Antoine saw Kurds wearing kleta while traveling through Eastern Kurdistan and Iran in 1801. A typical Persian men's outfit is shown next to the Kurd to highlight the differences in custom:
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