Turkey - Rug Emporium

The last stop in Turkey was to a Rug Emporium.  First we were introduced to the young women that actually did the work.  It is a labor intensive, probably back-breaking, process that creates the most intricate designs in wool.  The rugs start with either a cotton, or silk base of vertical threads.  Then the wool yarn is inter-twined thru the vertical threads to produce the pattern.  You can tell if the base threads are cotton or silk by looking at the back of the carpet.  The really jaw dropping part of the whole process are the tools and process for taking the silkworm pods and turning the pods into fibers, into a single thread!  It was simple...but how it came to be that "simple" way had to take a lot of trial and error YEARS (centuries?) in the past.  Simple tools, simple process, fantastic result.  Here are a few photos to the end result.  A GOOD carpet will change it's hue as you change the angle the light that is hitting it.  Hence, on the carpet I've posted here, I've tried to capture that phenomenon.  BTW, lighter colored carpets are usually made in, and for, hotter climates, while the darker, richer colors are usually made for the cool to colder climates.

Tools to Make Silk Fibers

Fibers from Silkworm to Thread

Young Women at the Looms

One of the End Products