ACraftIndependent states
Turkish carpets and kilims
Anatolian carpet weaving, with schools such as Uşak, Hereke, Konya and Milas — even painted by European masters.
Carpet weaving came to Anatolia with the Seljuks: the 13th-century Seljuk carpets found in Konya's Alaeddin Mosque are among the oldest Turkish-knotted carpets in the world. The Turkish symmetrical knot makes carpets strong and long-lasting.
In the 15th–16th centuries Uşak carpets were exported to Europe. Painters such as Hans Holbein and Lorenzo Lotto depicted them so precisely that some types are still called "Holbein" and "Lotto" carpets. The Hereke factory, founded in the 19th century, became famous for its silk palace carpets.
The kilim is a flat-woven rug without pile; its geometric motifs — the ram's horn, hands-on-hips, the eye, the water path — carry symbols of nomadic Turkic life. Today village weavers and natural-dye initiatives keep the tradition alive.
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Updated: October 2, 2026