Past Travels

Most recently, TAC organized a trip to Turkey. The following is Sally Forelli's account

Turkish Delights

By Sally Forelli, 2009

The Textile Arts Council sponsored a wonderful textile, art, and architectural tour of Turkey in May/June 2009. Our knowledgeable guides, Paul Ramsey, rug scholar and dealer, and Vedat Karadag of Walk Turkey Adventures, introduced us to the beautiful pile carpets and flat-woven kelims and to the weavers themselves.

Beginning in Istanbul, the former capital of three empires, Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman, we visited the Hagia Sophia, the Topkapi Palace, and the Blue Mosque. From our hotel in the heart of Old Town, we walked to galleries, museums, and the Grand Bazaar housing over 4000 shops.

A highlight of the trip was visiting the DOBAG (Natural Dye Research and Development Project) villages. Harold Bohmer, the German chemist who founded the project in 1981 for the purpose of re-establishing natural dyes in rug yarns, joined us. Our weaver-hosts were baking bread when we arrived, served lunch under the trees, and then demonstrated spinning, dyeing, and weaving. The weavers from over 50 villages control the entire process from designing to selling.

In Konya we visited the shrine and museum of Celaleddin Rumi, 13th century Sufi poet and "great leader" (Mevlana) of the Dervish order. We attended a "whirling" Dervish ceremony and spent an afternoon in a workshop watching the process of felting the Dervish cashmere hats and contemporary rugs and scarves. The kelims made in and around Konya are intricate and unusual.

Our journey across the country provided the opportunity of experiencing ancient sites such as Pergamon, Sardis, Termessos, and Aspendos. Our home for the final five days was a motorized yacht (gulet) on the Mediterranean's turquoise coast. Mornings incuded 2--3 hour hikes through ruins, ghost towns, and seaside villages. We enjoyed outstanding Turkish food and wines and brought back beautiful rugs for lasting enjoyment.

Return to travels.

Women from the DOBAG cooperative in Orselli
Ayvacik women, part of the DOBAG cooperative indigo dying wool for carpets	Tour group at Simena ruins