Do you know that i am from Kayseri? Kayseri Silk Carpets are made in Kayseri, capital of Cappadocia.In the Cappadocia region there’s a small town called Avanos. Besides its spectacular landscape of rock cones and capped pinnacles, the town is famous around the world for its traditional handicraft artistry — featuring pottery and carpets.
A piece of Turkish hand-made carpet or kilim is always on the shopping list of many foreign tourists. For over two centuries, Turkish carpets especially Kayseri Silk Carpets, with their vivid colors, intricate designs, and delicate weaving — have won worldwide acclaim.
In contrast to the frequently used chemical dyes in cities, Turkish carpet makers use natural ingredients to dye the wool. For example, brown comes from walnuts, and yellow comes from saffron.
Aside from wool, silk is another important material used in making carpets. And by putting cocoons into boiling water — silk is gradually extracted and rolled..
Floral and curvy designs makes these carpets to have over 300 knots per square inch. Kayseri Silk carpets have over 200 different flower patterns.
This 15-year-old girl already has five years experience weaving carpets. Sitting in front of the loom for at least 8 hours a day, she says she never gets bored. Instead, she puts all of her her imagination and creativity into her work. And her feelings are shared by her co-worker.
Young Waver said, “It’s a hard job, but I don’t feel tired at all, I like making designs and creating something.”
It usually takes several months, or even years, to put together a masterpiece.Traditional carpet-making is gradually losing its popularity nowadays in Turkey.
This, as the pace of life gets faster, and people have more options. But in this village, making kilim, or carpet, is still a must-learn skill for women, and an everyday part of life.
Some programs are offered to the villagers to learn carpet-making. Enthusiasm and love are the most important ingredients to keep this art form alive, and also to keep it thriving into the future.
“They have to love, and be enthusiastic… and they have to feel that they want to create something from their heart and imagination…”