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Landships II -> Landships WW1 Forum -> Artillery -> Turkish 'kabalak' or 'Enveriye' helmet
Post Info TOPIC: Turkish 'kabalak' or 'Enveriye' helmet
J Fullerton


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Turkish 'kabalak' or 'Enveriye' helmet
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I've always been fascinated by this odd quasi-turban, and have hoped to get my hands on one, since I have difficulty understanding how they are assembled. I've seen a few on eBay over the years but they've always ended up out of my price range; have yet to find a manufacturer of reproductions of them.

Then I found this website, which appears to show an entire boy scout troop wearing crisp new enveriyes as part of a Gallipoli commemoration (or so I guess), and thought it might be of some interest.




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Lafettenheini


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Hello Joseph ,

If You want i can ask my turkish neighbour (also a good friend ) if he will manage

to organize such a kabalak . Shipment to USA will be not expensive cause of

the "light weight " . And if he can get this "thing " cheep from his fellows i suppose

the price will fit at the end.wink

Best regards

Gerd

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J Fullerton


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That would be great, if it's possible!  I was beginning to think that nobody made reproduction kabalaks, but of course my search is hindered by my inability to speak turkish.  I'm sure the price won't be a problem; the originals tend to go for several hundred dollars (when they show up at all!) replicas are bound to be a bit less.  Should I send you my email information?  I really appreciate the offer,
                                                                                               -Joe

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Lafettenheini


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Hello Joseph,

Nice that You are intersted at my offer. Will try to "catch" my neighbour tomorrow and ask him . i show him your topic that he understand what you want.When i know more i inform
You at once . Several hundred dollars ??? For a kabalak ?? Unbelievebel !
I know that german parachute -helmets from the II WW . are so expensive -but that ....
Maybe the turkish people here- and they are many in our town -have some pieces allready here and don't know what worth they are wink
You can send me your E-mail adress when i know more .

best regards

Gerd

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J Fullerton


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Lafettenheini wrote:
Several hundred dollars ??? For a kabalak ?? Unbelievebel !

If I'm remembering correctly, the last one I saw on eBay ended at over $400 US (which would be much less in Euros, naturally).  Interestingly a few have had film company stamps on them, such as "Pathe", which led to speculation about whether they were made as movie props back in the 1920s or something (they were certainly quite old and moth-eaten), or if they were real Ottoman military equipment that was purchased by movie studios.  Regardless, they do seem to be fairly rare.

 



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James H


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I'm sure I read somewhere that Kemal designed it himself and had it issued to all ranks without really explaining why. Turns out that he was on a percentage. Don't know if that's true.

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Lafettenheini


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Hello Joseph,

Showed the topic to my turkish neighbour some minutes ago. He only knows like James,

that Kemal Attatürk has worn such Kabalak . He promised to research in net on special

turkish sites for a one. Also ask his fellows for it. Hope i can mail here positive answer

next days .

Best regards

Gerd

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J Fullerton


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I've read that about Enver Pasha, not Mustafa Kemal...thus the alternate name 'Enveriye'.

One of the thing that strikes me as interesting about this is that it seems to be part of a broader pattern where different nations made drab-coloured military headgear emphasizing their ethnic or cultural traditions. The Russian Budyonovka is another wartime innovation that seems to be designed to have a sort of historic resonance, while the Sajkaca and the Tam O'Shanter had longer military pedigrees. I think there was something of the sort with Austrian affiliated Polish forces as well, but I don't recall the name or whether that style of hat was used all along in certain cavalry units.

-- Edited by J Fullerton at 16:17, 2007-11-14

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James H


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J Fullerton wrote:

I've read that about Enver Pasha, not Mustafa Kemal...thus the alternate name 'Enveriye'.


Sorry. I've found the reference, in The WWI Sourcebook:

This most singular item was originally a loose turban stitched into shape, named after Enver who copied it from the Italian sun-helmet and reputedly made a fortune from its patent; later it was constructed by folding the cloth around a light, plaited straw framework.

So it probably did have some value in hot weather, in terms of air circulation, but it must have been very fragile and obviously without any protective qualities.

-- Edited by James H at 12:19, 2007-11-15

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J Fullerton


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I just noticed that I posted this thread in the wrong forum...
I normally view threads based on recent activity and didn't think about the category when I hit 'new thread'.

Anyway, while the search for a kabalak continues, I was unexpectedly able to obtain a completely different type of Ottoman WW1 helmet. That is, if it's correctly identified. I haven't yet gotten in the mail, but these are the seller's photos of what I believe is a german made turkish stahlhelm:



It seems to match the drawing in Brian Calkin's Military Headgear of the First World War:

and these photos of Turkish stormtroops:


Is it the same thing, or something similar? It's not too big a loss if it's something else entirely.

There also seems to have been a completely different visorless stahlhelm designed for the Ottomans that may have never been delivered before the war ended, and ended up being by the Freikorps in the postwar struggles. Someone actually manufactures a reproduction of this oddity:

I understand that the later visorless helmet was designed to be more compatible with muslim salah prayers, for which the forehead should touch the ground, but were the first two versions (which the Turks actually used in the war) a prototype? The brim in front is certainly less extreme than the german version, but it looks to me like it would still block the forehead.








I also found a website with some more examples of kabalaks, one of which has a pickelhaube style spike! It's near the bottom of the page.
link.

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Lafettenheini


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Hello Joseph ,

Let me tell you here that my search for a kabalak goes on . Will contact the turkish/german

trade chamber with  language help of my neighbour. For a better understanding i'll show them only the pic here of Enver Pascha.

Found it in my WW I book of thousand pictures seeking a RRAV-one.

I could get a Luger -Artillery modell -numberless- Legion Condor version -

a Madsen -original and so on (didn't it cause of the prize )

THERE MUST BE A POSSIBILITY !!!! !

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J Fullerton


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After a very long hiatus, I feel I should bring closure to this thread with the news that I was finally able to find a reproduction Kabalak of sorts on eBay. It's a very neutral grey, though i would have preferred something more khaki, and it's an entirely soft hat; no wicker shell. However it is remarkably warm when shoveling snow!



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d_fernetti


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Here's a handy overall guide to the Turkish uniform: www.ottoman-uniforms.com/ww1-1915-to-1918-period-turkish-uniforms/
According to it, your hat is a "Bashlik" cap, and not exactly a "kabalak" (the stiff hat). Comparing it to the phtos on the other website, your repro looks fine!

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J Fullerton


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Ah, very interesting. Thanks for that link!

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d_fernetti


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Glad to be of service! Now the quest continues!

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