Karakul sheep the early 20th century. Karakul sheep are a multi-purpose breed, kept for milking, meat, pelts, and wool. As a fat-tailed breed, they have a distinctive meat. Many adult Karakul are double-coated; in this case, spinners separate the coarse guard hair from the undercoat. Karakul is a relatively coarse fiber used for outer garments, carpets and for felting. Very young or even fetal Karakul lambs are prized for pelts. Newborn karakul sheep pelts are called karakul (also spelled "caracul"), "swakara "(coined from "South West Africa Karakul"), "astrakhan" (Russian), "Persian lamb", "agnello di Persia", (Italian), "krimmer" (Russian) and "garaköli bagana" (Turkmen). Sometimes
Karakul (hat) men in Central and South Asia. The folding qaraqul was worn by the former king of Afghanistan, Amanullah Khan in 1919. The karakul, which had distinguished all educated urban men since the beginning of the 20th century, has fallen out of fashion in Afghanistan. In the USSR, the karakul hat became very popular among Politburo members. It became common that Soviet leaders appeared in public, wearing this type of hat. The hat probably gained its prestige among Party leaders because it was an obligatory parade attribute of the czar and Soviet generals. By wearing the karakul hat, Soviet leaders wanted