Turkish rugs are a popular rug choice with a huge selection of traditional and modern rugs. Turkey is a popular tourist country. Hence, their rugs have also gained additional exposure due to tourism. However, you don’t need to travel to Turkey to purchase a Turkish rug. You don’t need to travel there either to learn more about these beautiful rugs. 

Brief History of Turkish Rugs

 
The Turkish Rug weaving tradition is thousands of years old. Historical Persia was so vast that it included a very large region that spoke Turkish. Some of the finest rugs from northern Iran, in the province of Azerbaijan, are made from Turkish-speaking ethnics. In the south-west of Iran, the Ghashghei tribe, which are considered ethnic Turks, are also well known for their tribal and Gabbeh rugs. These cultural overlaps are a testament to the techniques that have been exchanged between these two countries. Hence, there is no question that the Persian and Turkish rug weaving tradition are highly intertwined. 
 

An Era of Resilient competition in Artistic Performance

 
The Safavid era Iran is the climax of the golden area of fine rug making. Similarly, the Ottomans on the west also made enormous achievements. Safavids and Ottomans were great political adversaries. Both struggled to outdo the other. This competition may have had a very positive effect. Since it resulted in the creation of beautiful rugs. Interestingly, rulers of the Safavid dynasty in Persia were of Turkish ethnic origin. On the other hand, the official language in the court of Ottomans was Persian.
 
Turkish rugs were commissioned by the court of Ottoman which normally required large workshops. Under Ottomans, the art of rug weaving reached its maturity. The current rug industry that produces traditional rugs is still inspired by the designs and techniques of that era. 
Traditionally, the style of the carpet adopts the name of the region it was produced. Famous Turkish hand knotted area rugs are made in Ushak, one of the largest towns in western Anatolia. Additionally, other famous towns include Hereke a coastal town in western Turkey near Istanbul. Another two major types of Turkish carpets are hand knotted pile rugs and flat woven rugs including:
  • Kilim
  • Soumak
  • Jajim (Cijim)
  • Zili
 

Turkish Rug Characteristics 

 

Weave Type

 
Turkish rugs are weaved using both Persian knots and Turkish knots. The fact that a rug is made in turkey does not necessarily mean that the type of the knots is Turkish too. A fine weaved Turkish rug uses Persian knots.
 

Material

 
Turkish area rugs are generally made of wool and cotton. Similar to rugs from other regions, they use cotton as base and wool on the pile or the outer surface in case of flat woven rugs. Some finer rugs use a mix of wool and silk or cork and silk for the pile of the rug. In fact, the finest rugs use silk on the pile and cotton on the base. 
 

Turkish Machine Made Rug Industry

 
Turkey has put an enormous investment toward its machine-made rugs. However, it can be considered among the most competitive in this field. Turkish machine made rugs are very affordable. They come in a range of different qualities and designs. Turkey makes machine made carpets in traditional motives and designs too. Nevertheless, it has not failed to respond to the demands of the modern market.
 

Sizes, Shapes, Colors

 
The size of Turkish rugs are standard sizes, ranging from:
  • 3×4
  • 4×6
  • 6×9
  • 8×10
  • 9×12
  • Oversize rugs

They are mostly rectangular but have a lot of round shapes. You can still find less standard shapes as well, such as octagon and hexagon. In terms of the use of colors, Turkey has continued to produce rugs with traditional colors.

The current government has actively invested in the rug industry in Turkey. Therefore, we can’t wait to see what the country comes up next. Browse our selection of Turkish Rugs available at Rugman here.