... HEREKE İS A UNİQUE WEAVİNG CENTER LOCATED AT THE NORTHERN EDGE OF IZMİT BAY, NEAR ISTANBUL. FOR CENTURİES, HAND KNOTTED CARPETS MADE OF LAMB’S WOOL WERE PRODUCED İN THE VİLLAGE OF HEREKE. TODAY, HEREKE İS RECOGNİZED FOR PRODUCİNG THE FİNEST HAND KNOTTED CARPETS İN THE WORLD.

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Hereke Carpets

   Hereke carpets, the oldest examples of which are found in palaces, are known for their fine texture and the knotting technique that makes it possible.

The oldest known carpet in the world is a square Pazirik that was found in Central Asia. This carpet, which is preserved today in mint condition in St. Petersburg’s Hermitage, clearly symbolizes the nomadic lifestyle of the Turkic tribes and their dependence on horses. From the Pazirik to the present, life has defined carpets. Not only fulfilling everyday needs, they have at the same time reflected the full gamut of human emotions woven into their texture in colors of every hue.
Turkish ‘Hereke carpets’, which are regarded today as among the finest and most valuable carpets in the world, represent the apotheosis of the history of weaving. Occupying a central place in the 19th century art of the carpet, Hereke carpets were woven specially for the palace and its circle.

As an adaptation and extension of the traditional Anatolian carpet, they raised this art to even greater heights through their patterns as well as their weaving technique.

WORKSHOP WORKSHOP Foto Galeri
STORE STORE Foto Galeri
CARPETS CARPETS Foto Galeri
CELEBRITIES CELEBRITIES Foto Galeri

100 KNOTS PER SQUARE CENTIMETER

Their weaving technique, in which the finest threads and silk are employed, is what distinguishes Hereke products from other carpets. The ‘Gördes knot’, which gives the Hereke its long life, is a technique known as ‘double knotting’, a technique which the Hereke masters invented following patient examination of all other carpets.

Increasing the number of knots per square centimeter also meant a further refinement of detail in the motifs used, with the result that virtual works of art emerge of astonishing refinement with motifs that stagger the imagination. The number of knots per square centimeter in a silk Hereke carpet confounds the human mind: on average 10×10, in other words 100 knots! This means ten vertical times ten horizontal knots in every square centimeter, which are impossible to discern with the naked eye. And in some Hereke carpets the number of knots goes as high as 12×12, 14×14, even 40×40, these latter of course being the finest carpets in the whole world. An experienced master weaver takes at least one year to produce a single carpet consisting of a million knots.

Adorning palaces both Ottoman and European with their quality workmanship and unique designs, Hereke carpets continue to be preserved today. Indeed, art lovers often judge the quality and richness of a collection by the number of Hereke carpets it contains. Perhaps there are fewer looms in use than before, but one thing never changes: “There is no compromising of quality,” the Hereke carpet-makers assure us.