Local ‘Workmanship’ Experiences
Overview
Turkey comes with a host of ‘cultural workmanship’ stops when traveling around the country. These can be an interesting insight into the process behind many of the articles you will see on sale in stores, mostly passed down amongst generations and within family lines.
If you’ve had a few hours of active exploration around Turkish sites and cities, then the following may serve as a way of breaking up the day, having a seat to rest your legs for an hour and enjoying a strong cup of local coffee.
Various options
Silk-worm spinning / rugs
Pottery
Zultanite gemstones/jewellery
Leather goods
required to thread a Turkish rug
Silk worm spinning and Turkish rugs
The cultivation of silkworms that was prevalent in Turkey in the 1950s is now a dying art and only a few family businesses continue to produce these strong threads by the traditional technique.
Larvae are hatched and feed on mulberry leaves before eventually turning into cocoons they spin out of silk. The cocoons are then boiled so that fibres can be extracted and subsequently transformed into usable fabric with a loom, creating everything from small rugs to room sized carpets.
This was one of the most interesting stops for me and it was fascinating to see the nimble fingers of the silk weavers making unimaginable carpet patterns. I must admit, there is little chance of me staying seated so motionless for such a lengthy period of time and so these weavers had me in awe.
Our salesman was the affable and dynamic John, a man with a joke for every occasion and whose slippery salesman skills had a couple of our travel mates signing up for an incredible house hold addition for their floor/s. We were treated to tea, coffee and Turkish spirits (at 11am) as we took off our shoes and were encouraged to walk on the different carpets. Apparently the only sin upon buying a carpet is to not walk upon it.
Pottery
Another incredibly interesting stop was the pottery demonstration in Avanos, set on the banks of the Kızılırmak (Red River). Avanos is approximately 8 kilometers from Kapadokya’s historical center of Göreme. The Red River, one of Turkey’s longest, has supplied the red clay for these craftsmen dating back to around 2000 BC, the time of the Hittites.
The region is home to many family owned potteries and I’d recommend viewing how they are made well over and beyond just visiting a pottery store. It takes years to become a skilled potter and you will be transfixed watching their feet spin the equipment while their expert hands craft a unique creation, ranging from pots to wine decanters to large platters and beyond.
Zultanite Gems *Beware*
It seems quite likely that you will stumble upon, or intentionally be taken to, a ‘zultanite’ gem factory. There are multiple in the Kapadokya region, a place with significant tourist turnover.
The lure of purchasing jewellery containing a piece of zultanite stems from the fact that this remarkable stone is found in only one place in the world, Turkey’s remote Anatolian Mountains. Zultanite is a single mine gemstone and exhibits different characteristics in different conditions: rich khaki greens and sage tones with flashes of yellow during daylight; and mesmerising salmon pink, violet champagne, vivid ginger and raspberry under artificial light.
May I please warn you: do your research. This industry is rife with artificial pieces and savvy salesmen who will very convincingly assure you otherwise.
Leather goods
I’d avoid this ‘experience’ unless you are specifically looking for a new leather jacket. We were taken to a very kitch dark room which became the introductory setting for a ‘catwalk’. We then sat through a mediocre display of male and female models strutting down a mildly elevated platform in various leather jackets. Don’t get me wrong, the leather appears (and feels!) to be of very high quality and is sold to fashion houses such as Cavalli overseas for double the price, but you will still come away with unnecessary purchases of light weight, handbag- fitting, gorgeous leather jackets worth a week’s wage that you weren’t intending …..
