Best souvenier from Turkey !

The handmade carpet is a gift from the Turkish people to world civilization. The knotted rug, the earliest samples of which have been found in Central Asia where the Turks used to live, is an art form discovered, developed and presented to the world by the Turks.

Wool-on-wool carpets, which are made of wool pile on a wool skeleton are the most traditional kind of Turkish carpet.Newer kinds of carpets, made of wool-on-cotton  and silk-on-silk, first appeared in the 19th century. The new materials allowed weavers to create more intricate floral and geometric patterns than traditional designs. A weaver can fit more knots onto a cotton skeleton than onto a wool one.

Unlike wool-on-wool carpets, density is important in assessing quality for wool-on-cotton and silk-on-silk carpets.

Of all the rug-weaving countries in the world, Turkey may be the most fun for travelers looking to buy. 

If you can see the same design on the back as on the front, that’s woven. Wool is the best; practically indestructible and sustainable. Hand-woven is the most valuable. If you see a canvas or burlap material on the back, that’s a tufted rug. Those are typically made in India and China, where they use a lot of glue and sometimes bad latex. It looks like a pile rug but may last only 5 or 10 years.

Carpets can range in price from several hundred dollars to several thousand or more, depending on the age, size, quality, and uniqueness.

By shipping.. Merchants will ship them home for you, though many tourists find it cheaper and more foolproof to carry them back (the carpets can be folded and tied tightly into a squarish bundle).Most big rug shops get a tax credit for shipping a rug overseas, so you shouldn’t have to pay for the shipping when you buy.

Knowledge is power ! A handmade oriental rug is the ultimate travel trophy, but if you do not want to be ripped off, it helps to get some help from a professional. Let us help you.

Ali Yalniz is a rug expert and writer-publisher of a carpet book that has already made 3 prints and sold more than 25000 copies in 3 years. If you are interested in rugs he will be happy to share his knowledge with you and also help you to buy a rug from Turkey.

He knows many wholesalers/reliable shops to take you.