TURKISH CARPETS

Turkish Carpets Carpets are among the best known art forms produced by the Turks. There are environmental, sociological, economic, and religious reasons for the widespread art of carpet weaving among the Turkish people. In the regions where the Turks have lived, temperatures changed greatly between day and night, summer and winter. Turks, whether nomadic or farming, have protected themselves from the extremes of the cold weather with carpets. The carpets are almost always handmade of wool, but sometimes cotton is added. In the traditional households, women and girls take up carpet weaving as a hobby as well as a means of earning money. Even as factory-made carpets became easier and cost less they cannot reduce the popularity of carpets in homes. Turkish carpets are among the most sought after household items all over the world. Their rich colors, warm tones, and extraordinary patterns with traditional motifs have contributed to the status that Turkish carpets have maintained since the 13th century. Turkish carpets in the 15th and 16th centuries are best known through European paintings. In the 17th century, when the Netherlands became a powerful trading country, Turkish carpets where displayed in many homes there. No two carpets are the same; each one is a creation from anew. Because traditionally women have woven the carpets, this is one art form that is rarely appreciated as being the work of a known or a specific artist.                                       Visit: www.bergintours.com