Tattooed Armenian woman from Aleppo, 1915

An Armenian woman from Aleppo with tattoos marking her as belonging to one of the Bedouin clans. The photograph dates from 1915.

Arab nomads had forced the girl to choose: either marry one of them and convert to Islam, or be handed over to Turkish soldiers.

Tattoos are visible on her forehead, chin and hands. She wears a plain shirt and stands by a wooden fence.