YAHYALI RUGS

The history of carpet weaving in Kayseri-Yahyali is as old as the foundation of Yahyali. Well-known from the 19th Century, Yahyali rugs are woven in Yahyali Centrum and Kapuzbaşi, Hacibeyli, Kirazli, Elbeyli, Seydili, Dereköy, Sazak, Ilyasli, Dikme and Avlağa villages.

Yahyali rugs are woven with the Turkish knot in wool. In the area, warp and weft yarns are spun with such tools as winding wheel and spindle.

The loom type is middle-stretched vertical. The weaving is performed with kirkit, scissors, and blade and finger plate.

Colours are dominated by shades of red, dark and light blue, grey, light green, brown, yellow, black and white.

A Yahyali rug is made up of sections known colloquially as dar ayak (narrow foot), geniş ayak (large foot), köşe (edge) and göbek (centre). Patterns are created either by heart or by imitating formerly woven rugs and are generally of a geometric or floral nature. Symbolic figures and scenic motifs are also used.

Although these rugs are woven in the form of bedsteads and prayer rugs, there are also examples woven as floor rugs, saddlebags and pillows.

The smallest of floor rugs is 6 m². They are generally ornamented with two-directional mihrab and centrepieces. There is a chest section under and over the mihrab.

Each bedstead rug is 2-2.5 m in size. The foot section is ornamented with mosque figures, mihrab frames and gussets with spots (dabaz) and base with centrepiece motifs.

Prayer rugs are 50x90 in size. They are generally ornamented with single-directional mihrab with candle motifs hanging from them. The rug base is left blank.

Saddlebags are 1 m² in size. They have handles for use on shoulders. Patterns used in rugs are minimized on saddlebags.

In terms of quality, these rugs are of 30x40, 26x33 and 30x38 knots per 10x10 cm (1 dm²). The pile height is in the range of 9 to 9 mm.

Modern Yahyali rugs maintain the use of traditional motifs with minor adjustments. Scenic depictions are generally placed on the wider edge.

Scenic motifs, the first examples of which were seen in Kula, Gördes, Kirşehir and Konya rugs in carpet art, have been also influenced by the rugs woven in and around Yahyali. Although little care was taken for perspective, a realistic approach is maintained with the efforts to depict colours and architectural elements in their minute detail.

These examples are still woven today and along with their currency, they have an important place in the Anatolian-Turkish Carpet Art also with their subject matters. 


BÜNYAN RUGS

The origins of Bünyan rugs are traced back to Central Asia and these rugs completed their development phase due to the pressing changes in the cultural, economic and social structure.

After 1908-1909, weavers started to use fabricated woollen and cotton yarns as the main material of Bünyan rugs.

Motifs used in the rugs of this period are mostly of a geometric nature regarded generally as arrangements in the form of multiple motifs, 'striped arrangement', 'atlamali (skipping) arrangement', 'transient arrangement' and 'centralized arrangement'. At the same time, there are arrangements applied to the edges of a motif.

Rugs woven in this period can be grouped under four headings.

1-     Rugs woven in silk with hand-made and naturally dyed yarns

2-     Rugs woven in Manchester wool and synthetically dyed yarns

3-     Rugs woven with uncoloured sheep wool (Paturel and Anakara)

4-     Rugs woven in Bursa silk (Silken Rugs)  

Bünyan rugs are generally dominated by standard measures (The length is 1.5 times the width). Rugs are referred to with different names according to their sizes. 

60 cm x 90 cm         : Pillow
90 cm x 130 cm       : Turkish yard quarter
120 cm x 180 cm     : Prayer rug (500)
120 cm x 225 cm     : Bedstead (600)
2 m x 3 m               : Kelle (700) 

Rugs in the range between 6 m² and 12 m² are referred to as floor rugs. 

In Bünyan rugs, the base is made up of two sections.
The first section is the area where the edge ornamentations and columns is located, while the second section comprises the inner space. There is a harmony between the two sections.

Borders used in rugs vary with their locations and regions. In some regions, borders are in three lines, while in others, they are created in 7-8 lines.

Bünyan rugs are classified in 3 groups in terms of motifs:

a) Floral:     Fine floral (knitted), Large floral (Bademli and Farahan).

b)  Geometric:  Referred to with the names of their places of origin such as Kazak (Sandikli) Şirvan, Buhara and Ladik.

c)  Central:  Known with such names as Kazan, Lalezar, Hayali and Üzümlü. 

The colour most commonly used in motifs is red, followed by yellow, blue, and green, black and white. 

There are around 16-30 knots per cm²in average in Bünyan rugs.

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