Magic carpet ride

COFFEE, carpets and delight are the first three things that spring to mind when you think Turkey.

So far this trip I’ve done Turkish delight and Turkish coffee – I didn’t have to walk far from my hotel to indulge in these local culinary icons – and today it was time to dive into the world of Turkish carpets.

As part of our mini two-day tour of Cappadocia we visited Bazaar 54, a carpet cooperative established to give the local ladies work with the aim of keeping them and their families in the rural heart of this country rather than abandoning village life to move to the big smoke in search of better jobs and financial security.

Another benefit is local ladies are taught the skills of carpet making, a skill that was disappearing in this part of the world until the government stepped into help.

Cooperative educator Tarkan Ozgonen, the member of staff tasked with helping visiting tourists learn about the skills associated with crafting Cappadocia’s premium carpets, explained the state was funding the project by providing materials and a place for the village women to sell their creations.

"The government helps these women make a living, which stops them migrating to the city," the Bazaar 54 expert explained.

"We have 7000 members here, and out of that number 2600 are weaving carpets at home, and we not only provide everything they need to be self-employed but they also have benefits provided by the government which makes them feel secure for the future and happy to stay at this location.

"Elders also go into the villages and check the work these women are doing in their homes, for quality control, and we don’t let any of the women work for more than 45 minutes and then they must stand up and walk around to get the blood moving and help concentration."

Mr Ozgonen explained there were 13000 carpets ready for sale at Bazaar 54, everything from the traditional Cappadocia rugs that feature the rich browns and reds of the region to designs imported from other parts of Turkey and even some modern innovations.

"You can tell a Cappadocia rug by the colours used," he said.

"Onion skins and daisy petals with a little bit of tobacco give those yellow and brown tones, madder root creates that burgundy, and the blue is indigo, with the skill of dyeing the silk and the wool handed down from one generation to the next.

"The reason every region’s carpets are different is because every part of Turkey has different ways to dye the materials, and the shades also depend on the substances that are available to make the colours.

"If the colour in a carpet is strait with no variation then you know the fabric was coloured using chemical dyeing, but when there are variations in the same tones you can be sure it’s been done using the traditional and natural method."

The art of carpet making goes back to the days of the Silk Route, when traders carrying silk worms passed through Cappadocia as they moved between China and Europe, and the cargo was so precious the delicate cocoons would be hidden in each group’s walking sticks.

"Silk is the second strongest organic fibre in the world, second only to a spider’s web," Mr Ozgonen said during a tour of the workshop.

"To harvest the thread we put each cocoon into hot water to remove the natural glue that binds the fibres together, and after a few minutes of soaking we use a primitive brush that’s still the best way to collect the material.

"We used 25 cocoon fibres to create one silk thread, and 375 silk threads go into making in the fabric that forms every knot, so no handmade carpet can be considered delicate and one of our carpets will last for decades even in a high-traffic area.

"Turkish carpets are created using hundreds of fine Turkish knots – they’re made by forming two loops around the yarn – and a double knot is better because it has double the security with at least 12 knots in every centimetre.

"One of the mor skillful ladies can make between 3000 to 5000 knots in a day, and it takes 12 to 13 months to make one of the bigger rugs."