Turkish Carpets
The first carpets were those made by the nomadic Turkish tribes who wandered central Asia, and bear a close resemblance to the cotton "kilim"s still available today. It is not exactly known when and where the first knotted-pile carpets were woven; however the oldest surviving pile carpets was discovered in the grave of a Sycthian price in the Pazyryk valley of the Altay mountains in Siberia by Russian archeologist (Rudenko) in 1947. This carpet is presently displayed in the Hermitage Museum in Leningrad. The carpet was woven with the Turkish double knot and contains a surprising 348.000 knots per square meter (256 per square inch); it is 3.62 square meters (6 x 6.5 feet) and has been carbon dated to the 5th century BC. It was loaded and subsequently flooded and froze to a wait discovery by Rudenko. The Pazyryk, or Altay carpet, is rather sophisticated, thereby showing that it is the product of a long history and tradition of weaving.
Turkish rugs are mostly made from wool or silk, woven and knotted on a loom. The density of the knots determines the quality of the carpet – the more knots per centimeter, the more hardwearing it will be. The colors used for the designs vary from region to region and usually stem from the indigenous plants which were available in that region for producing dyes. The symbols used to decorate the carpets also vary and most have a meaning attached to them – usually they are motifs taken from nature representing flowers, plants and animals. Most carpet sellers are well informed about the history of the carpet and will be happy to spend some time explaining it to you – often over a glass of black tea. In recent years, a number of carpet schools have been opened where the traditional arts can be preserved and the process of carpet making from dying the wool to weaving can be demonstrated to visitors.