Fouta towel

The fouta (also spelled futa) is a piece of thin patterned cotton or linen fabric of Tunisian origin used in many Mediterranean countries and Yemen. Among other uses, they were worn, by both men and women, wrapped around the body while at the public baths in 19th-century Syria. In Algeria, conservative women wore the fouta draped over their "sarouel" garment. Similarly, in some parts of southern Saudi Arabia, men would wear the fouta as a loincloth beneath their "thawb" robes, or just by itself while relaxing at home.
Foutas are widely used today in the occidental world as Turkish bath towels (hammam towels) or even beach towels.