Milas determined not to forget famed carpets
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Doğan News Agency
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 12, 2009 00:00
MİLAS - Considered valuable cultural items and famous beyond the borders of Turkey, Milas’ trademark carpets are about to be saved from becoming a dying craft. Merchants complain that the number of producers is decreasing and the existent ones use factory fiber instead of traditional threads. Local authorities take a stand to protect the carpets
The state administration and the municipality of the Milas district of Muğla are collaborating to preserve the tradition of Milas carpets for the next generations.
Milas carpets are considered valuable cultural items and are famous beyond the borders of Turkey. The merchants who sell original Milas carpets have complained that the number of carpet-producing villages is decreasing and the existing ones use factory fiber instead of the traditional threads.
Türel Buldan, a 64-year-old owner of one of the district’s well-known carpet stores, said the exact history of carpet production in Milas was unknown but a prayer rug from the 17th century, at the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum in Istanbul, is labeled the oldest known Milas carpet. Buldun said there were 40 motifs unique to Milas. "The most famous is the one called ’Adalar’ (Islands). The carpets are woven by Turks from İstanköy, Creta and Rhodes. ’Ada Milas’ is the carpet’s name," he said.
Similar to natural dye
Buldan said factory-created wool fabrics that have similar colors to natural dye from plant roots are mostly preferred these days and only the villages of Karacahisar and Bozalan follow the tradition of using naturally dyed wool. Only a small number of the carpets that are woven and sold in Turkey are original Milas carpets, according to Buldan who said nearly all of the carpets sold outside of Milas are lower-quality productions woven in the villages of Isparta, Afyon, Burdur, Balıkesir and Kütahya provinces. "Those carpets are far from natural, and not original," Buldan said, adding that the imposter carpets were being sold at the same price as the originals.
"I want people who weave carpets with naturally dyed wool to earn more. A carpet takes two months to complete," said Buldan. He said the weavers’ profit is laughable compared to today’s salaries. According to Buldan, the low pay is another reason that carpet weaving is a dying art. He said a cleaning lady makes more money than a carpet weaver and weaving is similar to a hobby now. "There are carpet-weaving stands in 80 of the 114 villages of Milas. The stands are there but the number of villages where carpets are being woven is decreasing rapidly. There are approximately 20 villages in which carpets are woven," said Buldan.
Milas district’s local administrator, Şahin Aslan, said a project for preserving the carpets of Milas is being prepared by the Milas Girl’s High School. The project aims to prevent the degeneration of carpets while preserving their originality and improving their status by offering reliable information to consumers. The local administration of Milas, Milas Municipality, Muğla University, Milas Sıtkı Koçman Vocational School of Higher Education, Milas County Directorate of National Education, Milas Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Ildız Carpet Farm are all supporting the project.
"In order to actualize the project, the collaborators met with weavers and tried to figure out each and every quality of the Milas carpets. The carpets are going to be labeled as Milas carpets only if they meet the standards. Therefore, the buyer will not hesitate about whether a carpet is a real Milas carpet or not, and the weavers will make the deserved profit," Aslan said. They are working on a historic building to be transformed into a showroom for Milas carpets, he said. Milas Mayor Muhammet Tokat said the Milas carpet was not a product in their eyes. "For us, each and every one of our carpets is a cultural envoy," he said. The mayor said steps must be taken for the international production of the Milas carpet. A carpet museum is in the works and training courses are to be opened to preserve the genuine Milas motifs, according to the mayor.
Milas carpets are considered valuable cultural items and are famous beyond the borders of Turkey. The merchants who sell original Milas carpets have complained that the number of carpet-producing villages is decreasing and the existing ones use factory fiber instead of the traditional threads.
Türel Buldan, a 64-year-old owner of one of the district’s well-known carpet stores, said the exact history of carpet production in Milas was unknown but a prayer rug from the 17th century, at the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum in Istanbul, is labeled the oldest known Milas carpet. Buldun said there were 40 motifs unique to Milas. "The most famous is the one called ’Adalar’ (Islands). The carpets are woven by Turks from İstanköy, Creta and Rhodes. ’Ada Milas’ is the carpet’s name," he said.
Similar to natural dye
Buldan said factory-created wool fabrics that have similar colors to natural dye from plant roots are mostly preferred these days and only the villages of Karacahisar and Bozalan follow the tradition of using naturally dyed wool. Only a small number of the carpets that are woven and sold in Turkey are original Milas carpets, according to Buldan who said nearly all of the carpets sold outside of Milas are lower-quality productions woven in the villages of Isparta, Afyon, Burdur, Balıkesir and Kütahya provinces. "Those carpets are far from natural, and not original," Buldan said, adding that the imposter carpets were being sold at the same price as the originals.
"I want people who weave carpets with naturally dyed wool to earn more. A carpet takes two months to complete," said Buldan. He said the weavers’ profit is laughable compared to today’s salaries. According to Buldan, the low pay is another reason that carpet weaving is a dying art. He said a cleaning lady makes more money than a carpet weaver and weaving is similar to a hobby now. "There are carpet-weaving stands in 80 of the 114 villages of Milas. The stands are there but the number of villages where carpets are being woven is decreasing rapidly. There are approximately 20 villages in which carpets are woven," said Buldan.
Milas district’s local administrator, Şahin Aslan, said a project for preserving the carpets of Milas is being prepared by the Milas Girl’s High School. The project aims to prevent the degeneration of carpets while preserving their originality and improving their status by offering reliable information to consumers. The local administration of Milas, Milas Municipality, Muğla University, Milas Sıtkı Koçman Vocational School of Higher Education, Milas County Directorate of National Education, Milas Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Ildız Carpet Farm are all supporting the project.
"In order to actualize the project, the collaborators met with weavers and tried to figure out each and every quality of the Milas carpets. The carpets are going to be labeled as Milas carpets only if they meet the standards. Therefore, the buyer will not hesitate about whether a carpet is a real Milas carpet or not, and the weavers will make the deserved profit," Aslan said. They are working on a historic building to be transformed into a showroom for Milas carpets, he said. Milas Mayor Muhammet Tokat said the Milas carpet was not a product in their eyes. "For us, each and every one of our carpets is a cultural envoy," he said. The mayor said steps must be taken for the international production of the Milas carpet. A carpet museum is in the works and training courses are to be opened to preserve the genuine Milas motifs, according to the mayor.