From Central Asia to Anatolia: Turkish 'Bayat rug'

By Canan Tukelay

AFYONKARAHISAR, Turkey

Oghuz Turks in western Turkey have been keeping thousands of years old rug weaving tradition alive with the support of the district governorate.

Bayat rug, produced of sheep wool and madder root with traditional motifs, reflects the Anatolian culture’s richness.

Bayat rug in Turkey’s Afyonkarahisar city have been a symbol of the cultural richness that the Turks carried from Central Asia to Anatolia.

The special herbs for the rug are collected from the mountains, and boiled together with plain strings in the same vessel to gain the natural color. Later, the single strings are dried on a hanger. These strings are used to make the handmade traditional carpets. Rug weaving is the main source of living for the people of Bayat town.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Ahmet Nuri Demir, the deputy district governor of Bayat, said the rug weaving has been a tradition for all Turk tribes, but especially developed in Bayat tribe.

“Wool threads are turned into handicrafts carpets in the hands of the women of Bayat. The most important feature of Bayat rugs is that they are long lasting. They’re very difficult to weave. We have only 6-7 weavers right now. We have only one madder root painter. We’re trying to increase these numbers,” he told Anadolu Agency.

Demir also added that the rug motifs reflect the emotions of the women who made the rugs.