Turkish Carpet and Kilim Weaving

Turkish carpets are tied with the symmetrical knot looped around two warps, which gives a denser and slightly stiffer pile than the Persian single knot, and the regional differences become legible once you know what to look at. Usak wove large medallion and star carpets for mosques and for export to Europe from the fifteenth century. Hereke made very fine silk work for the palace after a factory opened there in the nineteenth century. Milas and Bergama kept to geometric wool, and flatwoven kilims came from villages across Anatolia. Wool came off local sheep, dyes were madder, indigo and weld, and until recently the loom was a household object rather than a workshop machine.

What you'll find

• The double knot - the symmetrical Turkish knot that sets both the pile and the price.
• Usak medallions - large-format designs that turn up as floor coverings in European painting.
• Hereke silk - very high knot counts, made for the court and still woven today.
• Kilims - flatwoven, no pile, geometric, historically made for the house rather than the market.

When to go

Any time of year, since looms are indoor work. Cooperatives and workshops in the weaving towns will show you the loom, the dye pots and the wool sorting without pressure if you arrive independently. Avoid the showroom stops built into coach itineraries, where the demonstration is a short preamble to several hours of selling.

Practical notes

Sales pressure is the real hazard: tea, flattery, a rolling stack of carpets and a price that halves the moment you stand up. Certificates of authenticity mean very little. Machine-made pieces get sold as hand-knotted and the word antique is elastic. Check the back for knot regularity, and never buy on a first afternoon.

Nearby

Izmir and the Aegean sites are within reach of the weaving towns, and Bergama has ruins of its own.