In Turkey, there are many handicrafts such as lacework, woodcarving, cloth weaving, rug weaving, ceramics, pottery, basketry, copper working, metal work, knitting, etc. In our city, there are three famous crafts : cloth weaving, rug weaving, and basketry. Hereke Rugs Hereke rugs are weaved in a seaside town of Kocaeli,Hereke. Silk, wool and cotton are used as raw material in these rugs. They are weaved in two different ways: wool on cotton lace and silk on silk. Since they are weaved too close, their patterns are so detailed. They are very strong because they are weaved with Turkish knot, also known as double knot. The most famous and classical pattern of this rug is ‘Yedi Dağın Çiçeği (The Flower of Seven Mountains)’. Its weaving style, pattern and colour variety, and its hardness make this rug unique. The rugs weaved in Hereke factory have won some awards in different exhibitions such as ‘Paris International Exhibition’ in 1855 and ‘London II. International Exhibition’ in 1862, . The rug that has the thinnest rug record in the world was weaved by Nuriye Kıvanç in 5 years in Hereke. Except for the collection series, by using the old patterns small size rugs are designed as souvenirs by factory designers. Kandıra Cloth The story of Kandıra cloth begins with planting of flax. After being processed (it is very hard process), it is weaved in workbenches. Also, weaving is a hard process, too. After weaved, cloth is washed to make it close. Kandıra cloth can be used in every part of life. Cloth board is used for making shirt, night dress, table cloth, handkerchief, sheet, etc. Kandıra cloth is preferred because it makes your body warm in winter and calm in summer. The weaving can be categorized as thick and thin. Sacks are made from the thick ones. Another feature of Kandıra cloth is the handling made on it using various silvers. Karamürsel Basket Karamürsel basket is famous because you can carry the fruit without any damage in it.Its raw material is chestnut tree. The bottom of this basket is 15-20cm. The top of it is 40-45 cm and its height is 60-65 cm. It seems like a half cone. Although it seems small in size, its inside is very large. Basketry has developed with the development of agriculture in this region. Today, these baskets are used while harvesting cherry; however, they are not as popular as they were in the past.
