THE FEZ

The red fez with a black tassel, the Shrine's official headgear, has been handed down through the ages. It derives its name from the place where it was first manufactured � the holy city of Fez, Morocco. Some historians claim it dates back to about A.D. 980, but the name of the fez, or tarboosh, does not appear in Arabic literature until around the 14th cen-tury. One of the earliest references to the headgear is in "Arabian Nights."