ISTANBUL, Turkey - Hafize Erdogan, a devout Muslim, proudly sports her new blue swimsuit — a full-body outfit that covers her arms down to her wrists, her legs to her ankles and even much of her head.
The 30-year-old mother of two said she bought the suit so she could swim with her family while also observing religious rules about modesty.
"I used have to stand by and watch my family in the water," Erdogan said at Kilyos Beach on the outskirts of Istanbul. "I would watch my kids like a cat looks at liver ... But now I can swim, too."
Erdogan is evidence of a growing trend in Turkey, where devoutly religious consumers are looking to combine their beliefs with Western pastimes.
"Islamic circles have traditionally understood beaches as something sinful," said Murat Cemrek, who teaches sociology at Ankara's Bilkent University. "But Islamic circles have become modernized. They've got money. They want to go to the beach and keep their Islamic values."
Bathing suits are only part of Turkey's flourishing Islamic market. There are also Islamic camping sites, spas and beach resorts that segregate men and women. Caprice Hotel on the Aegean Sea coast, for example, advertises "a modern vacation complex ... where the sound of prayer is heard five times a day."
Erdogan's dlrs 25 bathing suit includes a headscarf, a long-armed top and full-length pants. It fits loosely so as not to show off the outlines of her body and is made of a synthetic material that dries quickly. It features a design that looks like denim dotted with yellow shooting stars.
With all that fabric, the suits still aren't perfect for swimming.
"Water gets inside and it sticks to you," Erdogan said. "But I don't have any other choice."
In the past, religious women in Turkey either didn't go to the beach or wore regular street clothing into the water. Most women at beaches in secular Turkey wear Western-style bathing suits.
The top company producing Islamic bathing suits, Hasema, says it sold 25,000 bathing suits last year and can't produce them quick enough to keep pace with demand. The company exports to Egypt, North America, England and Australia.
Mehmet Sahin said he founded Hasema (pronounced Ha-shay-ma), because of his own problems on the beach as a university student.
Thirteen years ago, there was no company that made men's swimming trunks that extended from the bellybutton to the knees according to Islamic precepts, Sahin said.
"We used to have to cut off long pants. But we didn't find that very aesthetic," the bearded businessman said. "We developed the company according to our own needs ... but we found a place in the market."
The company expanded to include women's suits, now the company's top seller. Hasema's glossy catalogue shows more than a half-dozen different colors and floral patterns.
Sukur Dolek, who sells the suits in Ankara, Turkey's capital, said his customers are well-off and religious. Most are professionals or university students.
"Demand for the suits keeps growing. We can't keep enough in stock," Dolek said.
Dolek said some of his customers are secular Turkish women, who apparently take off the removable Islamic headscarves and wear the suits because they're embarrassed to show their bodies on the beach.
"Bathing suits don't have a religion," Dolek said. "Just like some women want to wear bikinis, others want to wear Hasema ... whatever the reasons may be."
The company, meanwhile, is still working on new products for eager beachgoers.
"We're even trying to develop a suit that the sun can penetrate, so women can get a suntan," Sahin said.