Rug and Rugmaking in Turkish Culture

Carpets and rugs have a very important place in Turkish culture. The traditions of our ancestors, who gave importance to the use of carpets and rugs in order to protect themselves from cold, wet, insects and many different situations in the past, are still being continued today. In the past, Turks lived as nomads and were in tents.

In order to be protected from the cold or any problem in these tents, they were laying items such as rugs and carpets on the bottom of the tents. Over time, rugs have turned into an art, and they continue to maintain their place in our society as a very important cultural value. Carpets and kilims are woven by hand in Turks. Today, many people who attach importance to this handicraft embrace this cultural value.

Kilim is a Work of Art

Rug has taken its place as a work of art in Turkish culture. The rug, which is not only used as an item, is a very valuable product due to its place in the culture. In the past, when weaving a rug, Turkish women used it to convey their messages, as if they were painting a canvas, as if they were playing a musical instrument, or as if they were writing a letter.

For this reason, the place of rugs means emotion, feeling and experience in our culture. The magnificence in the handicrafts of the rug weavers, the artistic delicacy that they have embroidered on the rugs, have caused rugs to gain a lot of value in the commercial sense. Turkish culture, Turkish understanding, rugs with Turkish patterns have been such that they will spread all over the world from Anatolia.

Stories Hidden in Rugs

While making the rugs, the feelings and thoughts are conveyed with a rope, while the dyeing used in the rugs has been one of the most important companions in this regard. The Turks mostly lived in the regions that dominated the Silk Road. For this reason, it has a wide range of possibilities for weaving materials and fabrics. In addition, the Anatolian people’s interest in and predisposition to art has also brought success in rug weaving.

Rug Motifs

The intertwined patterns of many different motifs have led to the emergence of wonderful products. Carpet is one of the materials that mankind has needed the most from the very beginning. But it was made concrete for the first time by the Turks who settled in Anatolia. Anatolian people, who came to a very superior period in terms of carpet making and rug making in the Ottoman period, first started to exhibit them in the Ottoman Empire by adding Central Asian Seljuk motifs in their saddlebags.

First Rug

The first rug in the world is thought to belong to 6500 BC. It is mentioned that there is a praying female figure on this rug. Especially the Central Asian Turks, who lived as nomads, wanted to take rugs that were easier and lighter to carry to their destinations. Kilim is a product that is thought to have been brought to Anatolia by the Turks of Central Asia with the Seljuk Turks around the 13th century. The Turks, who took all their belongings wherever they went, contributed to the spread of the rug culture in this way.

Kilim Today

When you look at the rugs, it is understood that different motifs and patterns are seen. The fact that these patterns are different is due to both emotions, thoughts and feelings, and the living space of Turks in different places in tribes. It is possible to see on the rugs that the different stories in each rug tell the feelings and emotions of the period. For this reason, rugs are not just any simple item, but also a work of art today.