Golestan Province’s Turkmen carpets reflect colorful culture and history
Turkmen carpets, woven in the northeastern province of Golestan, are a mirror reflecting the rich culture, history and civilization of the region passed down from one generation to the next for centuries.
The oldest discovered Turkmen carpet dates back 1,800 years; however, this doesn’t indicate whether a carpet-weaving industry in the region existed before that, or not, because some Turkmen carpet designs existed hundreds of years BCE.
The theory that has been confirmed for a long time is that in the beginning, Turkmens considered their carpets merely as practical objects; however, over time, they became aware of their artistic value.
Turkmen carpet designs arise from the local women’s creativity.
Thousands of people are presently active in the fields of carpet weaving, marketing and sales across the province.
Hajar Keramat, a carpet weaver, told IRNA that Turkmen girls learn the traditional art of carpet weaving from childhood. There is no Turkmen girl who is not familiar with the craft.
Turkmens give newly-married couples a hand-woven rug as a gift. In addition, a genuine carpet must be included in the dowry of all girls.
“After I got married I decided to develop the business of my father-in-law, who was a carpet salesman. We opened a small shop and gradually developed this business.”
“Now, after a few years, we have a shop selling natural threads for carpet weaving. Moreover, we have established a carpet-weaving workshop, in which 80 Turkmen women are active.”
The artisan said thanks to their various size, unique features and long historical backgrounds, Turkmen rugs have many customers both across Iran and the world.
Her husband, Khalil Aqatabai, said, “I was a music player when I was young, but due to my wife’s great enthusiasm for developing the traditional profession of Turkmens, I changed my job after marriage and, with the help of each other, we have managed to achieve great success over time.”
He noted that the exquisite carpets, as a main symbol of Turkmens, are still produced in the province without any major change in the design.
The number of patterns of Turkmen carpets is close to 811. Turkmens mostly use broken geometric patterns, known as akhal, in their rugs decorated with rhombus frames, connected to each other with cross lines.
The size of Turkmen carpets is between one to 12 square meters. They are woven in various colors, including lacquered red, navy blue, dark green, white and beige. Turkmen carpets were registered on Iran’s National Heritage List in 2011.