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Anatolian
Anatolian (Turkish) rugs generally come in smaller sizes with the exception of Ushak rugs, which can be as large as 25 feet by 50 feet. The majority of Anatolian rugs are prayer rugs with very distinct designs. Anatolian runners are also common. Most Anatolian rugs with the exception of Hereke and Ushak seem to be geometric and very much influenced by Caucasian designs. The two sub-styles mentioned above tend to be more curvilinear and have been influenced by curvilinear Persian styles such as Kerman.
The majority of the Turkish population is Sunni Muslim and because of certain religious beliefs, naturalistic living motifs such as humans or animals, and the sacred color green have not been used in older Anatolian rugs. However, today, both living creatures and the color green can be found in these rugs. Another characteristic of Anatolian rugs is their rich and colorful palette similar to Caucasian rugs. Some Anatolian sub-styles include Hereke, Bergama, Kula, Melas, Konya, Kirshehir, Kayseri, Sivas, Kurd, Yuruk, Ushak, Ghiordes and Sparta.
Prayer
Rug Mihrab Designs
The borders of Anatolian rugs tend to be very wide with many minor borders. Often times the width of the field is less than the width of the two borders. As a result, the field is usually narrow. The borders are crowded, often times more crowded than the field. Kufic calligraphy can also be seen in the borders. Many mihrabs in prayer rugs tend to be even solid without any motifs.
Some common mihrab designs include the double-ended mihrab, the horse-shoe shaped arch, the triple arch, the three curved arch, the waisted mihrab, the mihrab supported by two or four pillars, the V-shaped mihrab and the stepped mihrab. Another design includes tulips at the foot of the rug. Sometimes there are one or a few lamps hanging from the top of the prayer niche. Often a hook called kotchak is also attached to the top of the arch like a crown.
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Prayer rugs consist of symbolic objects such as columns, vases, lamps, combs, rosewater jugs, and the Hand of Fatima where the devotees place their hands when kneeling on the rug. Sometimes one, few or all of these objects are present in a prayer rug.
A special kind of prayer rug is a long runner which consists of multiple prayer niches or mihrabs. Traditionally, these runners have been used to pray on by several worshipers at the same time. These rugs are called Saf, which means a group of people in line.
Designs other than prayer rugs tend to be mostly medallions rather than all-over although some all-over rugs exist as well. The medallions are very large single or multiple medallions. They come in square, diamond, star or hexagon shapes. Conjoined hexagons and stepped hexagons are also common. Rugs with the all-over layout also tend to have rows of attached diamonds, squares or hexagons with smaller motifs inside them similar to a panelled all-over layout. The Caucasian tarantula and crab motifs can also be seen in Anatolian rugs, and similar to Caucasian rugs, Anatolian motifs tend to be inside one another. This is true for both medallion and all-over layouts. For example, a diamond can be inside several bigger diamonds or other shapes.
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