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TURKEY Region 02  ·  Middle East / Central Asia  ·  Anatolia

The symmetric knot.
Palace Oushaks to nomadic Kilims.

From grand Oushak palace rugs to Hereke imperial silk and the richest kilim flat-weave tradition in the world — Turkey holds the oldest surviving pile rugs found outside Iran, and the most diverse flat-weave heritage on earth.

Explore rug styles ↓ How we clean Turkish rugs ↓
Knot TypeSymmetric (Turkish / Ghiordes)
Primary FiberWool · Cotton · Silk (Hereke)
Dye TraditionMadder · Walnut · Indigo · Chrome
Key StylesOushak · Kilim · Hereke · Konya
Tradition Age1,000+ years documented
Oldest Pile RugsKonya, 13th century (Seljuk)
Understanding Turkish rugs

Turkey's weaving traditions span palace workshops, mountain villages, and nomadic tents — all using a single defining technique.

The symmetric Turkish knot — also called the Ghiordes knot after the western Anatolian town — wraps fully around both warp threads. This creates a denser, more durable pile than the Persian asymmetric knot. Both pile ends emerge between the same two warps, making the knot visible as matched pairs on the back.

Turkey produces the widest variety of weaving types of any single country: hand-knotted pile rugs, flat-woven kilims, sumakh weavings, and soumak bags. The palace luxury of Hereke silk has almost nothing in common with a Yörük nomadic kilim from the mountains — same country, completely different craft, completely different cleaning needs.

Identifying which Turkish tradition your rug comes from is the first step. Hereke silk requires completely different handling from an Oushak wool pile, and a kilim flat-weave must never be cleaned with the same pressure as a knotted rug.

At Simonian: We've been cleaning Turkish rugs since 1956. Oushak wool, Hereke silk, Kurdish tribal wool, and Anatolian kilims all pass through our San Mateo facility — each assessed individually before any cleaning begins.
The Symmetric Turkish (Ghiordes) Knot
Symmetric Turkish Ghiordes knot diagram — Wikipedia
The symmetric knot wraps fully around both warp threads. Both pile ends emerge between the same two warps — stronger and more durable than the asymmetric Persian knot. Ideal for bold geometric designs.
Three weaving traditions — one country
Court & Workshop
Hereke imperial silk, Oushak palace wool — large-format, finest materials, Ottoman royal commission.
Village Pile Rugs
Konya, Döşemealtı, Bergama — fixed looms, bold geometric patterns, naturally dyed wool.
Nomadic Kilims
Yörük and Kurdish tribal flat-weaves — portable horizontal looms, no pile, geometric, reversible.
The evolution of Turkish craft

How the techniques developed.

A timeline of weaving innovation — craft techniques, materials, and the artisan traditions that shaped Turkish rug making.

13th century
Seljuk Period
Oldest surviving pile rugs outside Iran — Konya
Eight pile carpets discovered in the Alâeddin Mosque in Konya are the oldest surviving knotted pile rugs in Anatolia. Woven by Seljuk artisans using the symmetric Turkish knot, they show bold geometric designs in deep reds, blues, and ivory — a vocabulary that persists in Anatolian village rugs to this day. The symmetric Ghiordes knot is already fully developed, indicating even earlier origins.
Symmetric Ghiordes knotGeometric vocabulary establishedNatural madder & indigo dyes
15th–17th c.
Ottoman Era
Oushak palace rugs — scale and luxury for the Ottoman court
The Ottoman court commissioned enormous pile rugs from workshops in Uşak (Oushak) in western Anatolia. These introduced a completely new aesthetic: oversized medallions on warm camel and gold fields, large-scale arabesque scrollwork. Oushak wool was unusually lustrous — sheep in the region produce fiber with exceptional natural sheen. These rugs appeared in European oil paintings of the period, cementing Turkey's place in the luxury textile trade. The distinctive Oushak palette — warm amber, soft blue, terracotta — defined Western ideas of Oriental rugs for centuries.
Oushak wool — natural lustrePalace-scale formatAmber–blue paletteEuropean export trade
1843
Imperial Hereke
Hereke — the most technically demanding rugs in the world
Sultan Abdülmecid I established the Imperial Hereke Weaving Factory near İzmit to produce rugs for the Ottoman palaces. Hereke weavers achieved extraordinary technical mastery — all-silk pile on silk foundation, knot counts reaching 900+ per square inch. Authentic antique Hereke pieces are among the most collectible rugs in the world and among the most demanding to clean correctly.
All-silk pile & foundation900+ KPSIOttoman imperial commission
1980s–Now
Modern era
DOBAG natural dye revival and the global Oushak design moment
The DOBAG project (Natural Dye Research and Development Project) trained village weavers in Yuntdağ and Ayvacık to return to madder, walnut, and weld dyes — a direct response to the synthetic dye era. Simultaneously the Oushak aesthetic — soft palette, oversized motifs, warm neutral field — became one of the most influential rug styles in Western interior design and remains so today.
DOBAG natural dye revivalMadder · walnut · weldOushak — global design influence
Fibers & Materials

What Turkish rugs are made of.

From naturally lustrous Oushak wool to Hereke all-silk and Anatolian goat hair — fiber identification is step one of every cleaning assessment.

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Oushak / Anatolian Wool
Western Anatolia · Uşak region sheep
Oushak wool is prized for its naturally lustrous, slightly coarser fiber that produces a distinctive sheen. Handspun wool creates the subtle color variation (abrash) that characterizes authentic village pieces.
Used in: Oushak · Konya · Bergama · most village pile rugs
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Hereke Silk
Silk pile & foundation · İzmit / Bursa region
Hereke rugs use pure silk for both pile and foundation — every thread. This allows extraordinary knot density (up to 900+ KPSI). pH-neutral chemistry only — alkaline solutions destroy silk protein permanently.
⚠️ All-silk — specialist care only · pH-neutral mandatory
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Cotton Foundation
Warp & weft · workshop production
Most 20th-century Turkish workshop rugs use cotton warps and wefts for structural stability. Cotton provides a firmer, flatter foundation than wool and is more resistant to moisture damage.
Used in: Modern Oushak workshop rugs · Hereke wool pieces
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Mohair (Angora)
Angora goat · Central Anatolia · Ankara region
Mohair from Angora goats occasionally appears in Konya and central Anatolian pieces. It produces an extraordinarily lustrous, silky pile with a distinctive sheen. More delicate than wool — careful moisture management required.
Used in: Some Konya pieces · select Anatolian village rugs
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Kilim Warp & Weft
Wool or cotton · flat-woven construction
Kilims have no pile — the design comes entirely from colored weft threads. Traditional kilims use all-wool construction. Flat-weave structure means kilims require completely different cleaning — no pile direction, different drying requirements.
Used in: All kilim flat-weaves · Yörük · Kurdish tribal pieces
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Viscose / Art Silk
Mercerized cotton or rayon · modern production
Modern Turkish rugs, particularly “Oushak-style” pieces, frequently use viscose pile for a silky sheen at lower cost. Viscose is extremely fragile when wet — it loses structural integrity and flattens permanently. Very common — always identify at intake.
⚠️ Very common in modern Turkish rugs — always test before cleaning
Dye Traditions

Color from Anatolian earth.

Turkish natural dyes produce the warm amber, terracotta, and soft blue tones that distinguish antique Anatolian rugs. The DOBAG revival brought these traditions back to living practice.

Madder Root
Rubia tinctorum · widespread Turkey
Primary red dye across all periods. Turkish madder tones trend toward deeper, cooler burgundy reds compared to Persian madder — partly due to regional soil minerals affecting mordant chemistry.
✓ Generally stable — test recommended on antiques
Walnut Husk
Juglans regia · Anatolian walnut · widespread
A distinctly Turkish dye tradition. Walnut husks produce warm brown and dark khaki tones — the characteristic earthy palette of Anatolian village rugs. Can bleed in contact with other fibers at high moisture.
⚡ Variable — test wool-on-wool constructions
Indigo
Indigofera tinctoria · via trade routes
Blues in Turkish rugs come from indigo, often with regional mordants producing a slightly greener blue than Persian indigo. Antique indigo develops a silver-grey patina with age that is highly prized.
✓ Stable — use neutral or mildly acidic pH
Weld / Reseda
Reseda luteola · Anatolian highlands
Primary source of clear yellow in Turkish natural dye traditions. The DOBAG revival program prioritized weld as the yellow standard. Combined with indigo it produces the greens characteristic of Anatolian village rugs.
⚡ Moderate stability — test all yellows and greens
Oak Gall & Iron
Quercus infectoria · Anatolia · dark tones
Oak gall with iron mordant produces deep brown-black tones. High iron content can cause fiber degradation — black areas in antique Turkish rugs are often fragile or corroded. Critical inspection point: check pile integrity in all dark areas.
⚠ Iron rot risk — inspect pile integrity in dark areas
Chrome Mordant (Modern)
Synthetic · post-1920s workshop production
Most 20th-century Turkish workshop rugs use chrome mordant synthetic dyes — colorfast, consistent, safe to clean with standard protocols. The soft “faded” look of modern Oushaks is achieved artificially, not through dye aging.
✓ Very stable — standard cleaning protocols apply
Critical for cleaning: Dark brown and black areas in antique Turkish rugs frequently show iron rot — pile in these areas may be brittle or absent. We check pile integrity in all dark zones before any cleaning begins.
Identifying Turkish Rug Styles

Which style is yours?

From grand palace Oushaks to nomadic kilims — each Turkish weaving tradition has distinct visual and structural characteristics that determine how it must be cleaned.

Oushak
Workshop · Western Anatolia · Uşak
Oushak
Large-scale arabesque scrollwork and oversized medallions on warm camel, amber, or ivory fields. Characteristically lustrous Oushak wool. The soft muted palette — warm amber, faded blue, terracotta — has made Oushak one of the most influential rug styles in contemporary interior design.
Symmetric knotOushak wool pileCotton foundationSoft muted palette
Oushak (Contemporary)
Modern Workshop · Western Anatolia
Oushak (Contemporary)
Modern Oushak-style rugs reproduce the classic palette and scale in chrome-dyed wool. The characteristic washed, faded appearance is produced artificially. Usually on cotton foundation with machine-spun wool. Structurally stable — among the most practical Turkish rugs for high-traffic interiors.
Chrome dyes — stableMachine-spun woolCotton foundationWashed finish
Hereke Silk
Imperial Workshop · İzmit · Near Istanbul
Hereke Silk
The most technically demanding rugs made in Turkey. All-silk pile and foundation with knot counts reaching 900+ per square inch. Established by Ottoman imperial commission in 1843. Every thread is silk — pH-neutral chemistry only, every time.
All-silk pile & foundation500–900+ KPSIOttoman imperial traditionpH-neutral mandatory
Kilim
Nomadic & Village · Widespread Turkey
Kilim
Flat-woven — no pile. Design comes entirely from colored weft threads. Reversible, lightweight, portable — woven on horizontal ground looms. Bold geometric designs encoded with tribal symbols. The Yörük and Kurdish tribes produce the most distinctive kilim traditions.
Flat-woven — no pileReversibleWool warp & weftTribal geometric symbols
Döşemealtı
Village · South Anatolia · Antalya region
Döşemealtı
One of the most distinctive village rug traditions in Turkey. Bold primary colors, strong geometric patterns, and a distinctive raised pile that gives a sculptural quality. Natural dyes still widely used. Woven in villages around Antalya in southern Anatolia.
Symmetric knotLong coarse pileBold primary paletteNatural dyes
Konya & Tribal
Village & Nomadic · Central Anatolia
Konya & Tribal
Konya is the weaving center of central Anatolia — site of the oldest surviving Anatolian pile rugs. Village and nomadic pieces feature bold geometric designs descended directly from Seljuk-era patterns. The Yörük nomadic tribes of the Taurus mountains produce vigorous tribal weavings with thick coarse wool and vivid natural dyes.
Symmetric knotCoarse tribal woolNatural dyesSeljuk geometric tradition
Not sure which style you have?
Walk in with your rug — or a clear photo of front, back, and any label. We'll identify it for free.
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Simonian's approach

How we clean
Turkish rugs.

A Hereke all-silk antique, a washed contemporary Oushak, and a Yörük nomadic kilim require completely different approaches — same country, three entirely different cleaning protocols.

The symmetric Turkish knot creates a denser pile that holds more soil and can tolerate slightly more agitation than Persian asymmetric knots — but this varies enormously by construction. Kilims need zero pile agitation; Hereke silk needs minimal water; a village Oushak with natural dyes needs zone testing before any moisture is introduced.

Iron rot in antique Turkish rugs
Dark brown and black areas in antique Turkish pieces often show iron-mordant corrosion. We assess pile integrity in all dark zones before any cleaning and document its extent clearly before proceeding.
Kilims — a completely different protocol
Flat-woven kilims have no pile to set and no pile direction to maintain. We clean kilims flat, at low pressure, with careful moisture management and different drying behavior than pile rugs.
1
Construction identification
Pile vs flat-woven. Symmetric vs asymmetric knot. Silk vs wool vs viscose. Antique vs modern. Each determines a completely different protocol.
2
Iron rot assessment
All dark brown and black areas checked for pile integrity. Iron-mordant corrosion is common in antique Turkish pieces — documented before any cleaning begins.
3
Dye zone testing
Every color zone tested individually. Natural dye pieces require zone-by-zone assessment. Walnut brown and natural black zones always flagged.
4
pH-matched chemistry
Wool: pH 4.5–5.5. Silk (Hereke): strictly pH-neutral. Kilims: low-pH, low-agitation. Viscose: specialist care only.
5
Immersion & The Flush
Full immersion in pH-balanced solution. The Flush: water pushed back-to-front. Kilims cleaned flat at controlled low pressure. Hereke silk — minimal water, hand-finished.
6
Tension drying — construction-matched
Pile rugs stretched flat, pile set in direction while damp. Kilims dried flat without tension distortion. Hereke silk — slow, gentle, never machine-finished.
70 years of Turkish rug expertise

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