Where do they come from?

The city of Konya is located in a desert steppe region 250 km from Ankara in Turkey. Since the time of the Seljuk sultans, it has become a religious center and an important place of pilgrimage. A historic city, its geographical position has always given it the role of a major commercial center. Its reputation for carpet making is such that all carpets coming from the neighboring regions are called Konya. The region of the trading city of Nigde (located between Kayseri and Konya) produces beautiful fine kilims called Konya-Nigde.

How are Konya carpets made?

The characteristics of Konya carpets mainly concern prayer rugs: a red background, a loose weave, stylized patterns representing tulips and swallow feet. The bazaar of Konya brings together the production of the villages of Derbent and Ladik. Merchants from Istanbul go directly to buy in the private homes of renowned knotters from the neighboring villages.

What are their characteristics?

The kilim carpets of the mountainous region south of Konya are renowned for their great qualities. Those from the small village of Mut, about 90km from Kamaran, are particularly appreciated despite their somewhat thick texture. They are called Karamanis by the elders, because in the past, they came from the Karaman region. Their background is generally, which is rare, in white wool.

Do they have traditional patterns?

Their simple patterns are geometric and composed of a central band of 3 to 6 polychrome hexagons floating on the white background, sometimes indigo. The composition of the prayer rugs of this city resembles that of the Karaman kilims. Like them, they are small, in coarse wool, in dark tones, often adorned with three mihrabs placed next to each other, the arch ending in a staircase with two types of hook at the top.

How to recognize a real Konya carpet?

The patterns of this region are typical of Anatolian kilim carpets but the chromatic variations create different viewing angles, like in a funhouse mirror, the colors of the triangular patterns never being the same color as their symmetrical mirror reflection. The vegetable colors are quite dark in a range limited to brick red, dark blue, yellow with gradients in natural tones of black and greige (the color of pure silk).

All our Konya carpets are unique pieces, sold with their certificate of origin.