Travel: Bergama Hand Crafted Turkish Carpets and Rugs (Türkiye)

Turkish carpets and rugs, whether hand knotted or flat woven are among the most well known and established hand crafted art works in the world.

Hand knotted rugs are made on a specially designed loom and are knotted by hand. The size of the loom depends on the size of the rug and the weaving is done from the bottom to the top which is a very tedious and time consuming operation.

The length of time to produce a hand knotted rug depends on the size and intricacy of the pattern. It is not unheard of for a super fine quality 12’ x 15’ rug to take over a year to produce.

In this post, I want to share my first-hand experience of this Turkish carpet in one of the villages around Bergama, Turkey. Just a piece of note that there are approximately eighty villages around Bergama that still weave carpets traditionally.

The history of carpet weaving in Bergama dates back to the 11th century (when Turkish migration started to the area).

Tukish carpet material production

Bergama carpets are of all-wool construction and have a knotting density of around 12 knots per cm². They are typically three to four meters square in size and originated from around the 14th to 15th century.

Materials

Only natural fibers are used in handmade rugs. The most common materials used for the pile are wool, silk and cotton. Sometimes, goat and camel hair are also used by nomadic and village weavers.

Material production

Dye

There are two types of dyes which are used to dye wool for weaving: vegetable dyes and chemical dyes. Rugs which are made using natural dyes are the most preferred. The natural dyes are obtained from three sources: plants; animals; and minerals. 

Weaving Tool

A variety of tools are needed in the construction of a handmade rug. Some tools, such as a loom, are an absolute necessity for all weavers, and other tools, such as a hook, are used only by certain weaving groups. 

With Turkish loom tool and weaver

Price

Turkish rugs can range in price from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars. The carpet's size, age, design and quality factor into the sales price. The higher the quality, the more expensive the carpet. Also, hand knotted and hand woven rugs can last many generations if they are of good quality and properly maintained.

Here are some photos from my D7000 in the factory.

Content Source: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia