like the horsemen they had met , the faces were more turkish than oriental , nut-brown in the desert sun , but for the heavily veiled mahommedan women of whom only their hands and feet could be seen ; other women did not cover their faces , but wore only the same four-cornered caps as the men , embroidered lavishly in dyed silks , and watched them with open curious dark eyes : interest returned in at least full measure by the men .