Gaziantep carpet makers in southeastern Türkiye have started working to renovate the carpets of the historical Umayyad Mosque in Damascus.
After the fall of the Assad regime, as life begins to normalize in Syria, the worn-out carpets of the historical Umayyad Mosque in Damascus will be renovated by carpet makers from Gaziantep. The carpet makers have begun their work on the renovation and have held an initial meeting to accelerate the process.
According to the project presented for approval by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the carpets of the Umayyad Mosque will be in burgundy color and made of wool. The carpet makers from Gaziantep are covering all expenses and working to complete the carpets before the beginning of Ramadan so they can be laid down for the first Tarawih prayer. Once the yarn production for the carpets is finished, the carpet makers will begin weaving the carpets for the mosque.
Zeynal Abidin Kaplan, president of the Southeastern Anatolia Carpet Exporters Association, provided information about the work on the carpets of the Umayyad Mosque. He said that the production of special wool yarn is completed, and once ready, the carpets will be woven by the Gaziantep carpet makers. Kaplan emphasized that the project is being led by a commission formed under the leadership of Gaziantep Metropolitan Mayor Fatma Şahin.
Kaplan also shared: "Under the leadership of our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, together with Gaziantep Metropolitan Mayor Fatma Şahin, we decided on the carpet production. Our mayor made an announcement on social media stating that the carpets of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus will be renewed by Gaziantep carpet makers. As Gaziantep carpet makers, we said 'we will be involved throughout this process' and embarked on this mission."
Kaplan explained that the first step in producing the carpets is converting the selected special wool into yarn, and then production begins. “This is a very special carpet, and since it’s made from wool yarn, the yarn is currently being produced. Because not every yarn is suitable for this carpet. We hope to begin weaving the carpets within about 10 days. We will have the carpets ready for the first Tarawih prayer before Ramadan,” he said.
Kaplan also mentioned that a presentation was made to President Erdoğan about the carpets of the Umayyad Mosque, and it was requested that they be similar to the carpets made for the Kaaba and Jerusalem.
He highlighted that Gaziantep is a leading city in the production of machine-made carpets globally. “As Gaziantep carpet makers, who produce 70% of the world’s machine-made carpets, we export carpets worldwide. While Gaziantep is a key player in the global carpet industry, we will not allow any other city, country, or foreign producers to make carpets for the Umayyad Mosque."
Kaplan emphasized that it is a great honor and source of pride for Gaziantep carpet makers to renovate the carpets of the Umayyad Mosque.
