The carpet village

The streets in the small Turkish village Etrim have no names. The life of its 300 inhabitants has always beenconnected to rug making. For local women carpet was and still is a tool to describe their life, also life itself.

Etrim village wakes up at 5:30 a.m. At 6 a.m., a local imam calls for morning prayer. The floor of the mosque is covered with rugs. Local men also have a prayer rug at home, made by their wives or mothers.

52-year-old Ummahan explains, that every April men cut wool. Then women clean and dye it. Every day they spend around 7 hours on rug making, apart from cooking, cleaning and other duties. Ummahan made around 400 carpets in her life.

In the only cafe in Etrim tables are covered with rugs instead of tablecloths, so cups do not slide. Also, it helps to play a local game called OK. You can always meet someone playing here. Mostly retired men. But never women.

The most experienced weaver, 83 y.o. Gulsum, says that carpet is a diary for local women. With help of patterns, they express feelings and explain their life. On her 1st carpet Gulsum made a girl with a book, when her father didn't allow her to enter school.