Recently I took a trip to Europe. My first trip, and definitely not my last. We visited Rome and Sicily in Italy, Athens and Crete in Greece and Kusadasi, Turkey.
Not only is Turkey one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited, it is also home to brilliant carpet makers & designers.
There were sooo many different patterns, colors, shapes and sizes. All hand-made. Some taking years to complete. We learned how they make silk carpets and the time it takes to put together a single thread of silk from a silk cocoon. Quite interesting and such a long process. Makes me appreciate the carpets and designs so much more when I know how much time and effort goes into a single piece.
I thought I would share a few photos of the different carpets we saw. They presented quite a few, along with complementary apple tea and coffee which is customary to do when selling goods to a customer in Turkey.
The building we visited used to be an old camel hotel or “caravanserail”. It used to function as a place where Ottoman camel caravans would stop to rest for the night. Camels would be found in the open-air courtyard, which is now full of palms and beautiful art. Today it is called Club Caravanserail and serves many purposes. It is currently a bed and breakfast and also where we were presented with carpets.
We visited a typical prayer house or Mosque while in Kusadasi as well. The entire floor of this particular one is lined in carpets. Even the bottoms of the window sills had small carpets lining them. To the far right in the photo above you’ll see a minbar. Sermons and speeches are often read from this structure. The room other than this wall is completely bare. The carpets are their to provide a clean place to kneel and provide some cushioning from the floor.
If you’re interested in checking out more carpet designs or even purchasing an authentic one for your home, check out Harem 49.
