RUGS, TEXTILES & TRADITIONS

Begin your day with a visit to the fascinating Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum, with highlighted exhibits of calligraphy, Turkish miniatures, manuscripts and ethnographic displays. The museum is also considered to house some of the oldest examples of early Ottoman textiles and carpets. Continue to the impressive Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Camii), with its beautiful blue Iznic tiles, unique architecture and marble latticework and the Hippodrome, the centre of Byzantine life for 1000 years. Visit the Vakiflar Kilim and Textile Museum housing one of the finest collections of flat weavings and carpets in the world. Afternoon visit to the magnificent Haghia Sofia, built by Constantine the Great and reconstructed by Justinian in the 6th century. It is one of the world’s greatest architectural marvels. Enjoy the underground cistern, Yerebatan Saray – the largest Byzantine Cistern in Istanbul before we make a special visit to the Center for Anatolian Ethnography and Textile Studies in Istanbul. Photographs, accompanying field notes, related literature, a broad selection of textiles and ethnographic objects collected by Donor Josephine Powell are on display.

MOUNTAIN VILLAGES - CARPETS & CRAFTS

A limited version of this tour has been running with huge success to weavers, artists, and textile and craft groups  for number of years. The combination of magnificent scenery, the ancient art form of carpets and local crafts, and the extraordinary village people we stay with make this tour an absolute “must” for  people who wish to see and participate in real Turkish village life. This tour is limited by numbers and seasons to preserve the spontaneity that is integral to the way of life of Turkish villages and their people.