Carpets woven by women in traditional looms in Gaziantep's Oğuzeli district with Turkish motifs that have sunk into oblivion are now exported to Japan.
Mayor of Oğuzeli district Mehmet Sait Kılıç said, "for handicrafts that are on the verge of disappearing, the aim is to continue this tradition that also reflects our culture." He highlighted that they have implemented a versatile project in carpet production.
"Türkiye is one of the oldest nations in history, with a great cultural background," he said. But with the development of technology, some of these cultural elements have started to disappear. "However, we want to continue this tradition to promote our culture. We are so pleased that the carpets produced here are in demand Japan," he added.
Weaving courses opened in four neighborhoods by the Oğuzeli Municipality in order to promote and transfer carpet weaving to future generations and to contribute to the family budget of women, attract a lot of attention.
The carpets woven by the women are decorated with Ottoman Turkish principalities and Kazakh motifs, and are exported to Japan by a private carpet company. Fifty of the carpets, which took a long time to complete, were sent to Japan within three years.
The women, who earn money per stitch they threw, carry two motifs. Firstly, to revive the culture that is on the verge of disappearing and secondly, to contribute to the family budget.
Kılıç explained that "in our carpet looms, our women produce handcrafted Turkish-patterned carpets with natural threads and natural dye. Later, these are exported to Japan. Hence, both our citizens learn a profession and our district economy booms and aids our country. We are pleased with this activity. We are working with an understanding of a social and development-oriented municipality beyond making an income from here. We have a cultural element here, we have carpets with Turkish motifs."
Kılıç stated that the threads used in the weaving are made of goat and sheep wool produced by the farmers.
Master trainer Bedriye Özbey stated that she has been working on carpet weaving for about 30 years. Expressing her love for this profession, Özbey said: "They are proud to advance their tradition and culture through this work. This carpet weaving, which was used for the advancement of Turks centuries ago, is now hidden and they are trying to bring this work to the limelight."
Trainee Bediha Akaslan also explained that she has just started weaving and she loves weaving. While sharing her experience she said, her friends were attending the training, so she also came too. She initially didn't have much courage, but she learned. Now, she is very pleased. She said: "I question myself sometimes, did I really make it? I recommend it to everyone."
"The more patterns and colors we include, the more beautiful it gets. When some of our fine carpets are being exported, we say 'the buyer of this carpet will be very lucky.' It's a pleasure," she emphasized.
