inside the carpets .Sultanahmet... A ragion of Istanbul that collects Byzantion,Ottomon and the repuplican Turkey in its bosom... The region where the neighs of the horses runing in the Byzantion Hioppodrome, the parades celebrating the circumcision of a prince, the dinner tables for fast-breaking in the
month of ramadon and illuminated words formed as webs of lightbulbs stretched between mosque minarets have left their traces.. The magnificient church of hagia Sophia which creates her own stories ,the mysterious cistern of Yerebatan , the Ibrahim Pasa palace that serves today as the museum of Turkish and Islamic Productions the Hagia Irini ,the Museum of Archaeology where the sarcophagus of
 
Alexsander is also displayed ,the Sultanahmet Mosque renowned for it's blue tileworks and surrounded whit is annexes are all located in this region.. It's proximity to the Grand Bazaar the heart of Ottoman commerce ,ensures its passage into the world of trade , too .Many famous carpet stores are also located in Sultanahmet ... I walk on looking at the happy faces of carpet sellers loading into a car the antique carpets that they have sold to their customers , preparing to transport them to the airport. I pass by restaurants wiht delicious smells of meatballs, enought to urge you to enter right away.I climb a set sound of printing machinery at work. The teaman serves out his newly mode tea to the workers ,whistling merrily while travelling between levels.I knock at the door on the 3rd level of Aras Han.

The first thing I see When the door opens is avertically stretched silken Bandirma carpet.The fatique of its more than a hundred years of age reveals itself in its fabric.It is even torn in places ."You have just started mending this " I ask the young man who greets me ."It's been here for three mounts ..." he says to my utter astonishment.

I bend down to inspect the silken carpet,but I can not see any newlly mended spots."I can't see where İt's been mended," I say.Ahmet Bayrakdar smiles."Whell,that's our mastery," he answers . This is how we start chatting in the small worksshop of silken carpet repairs of Ahmet Usta (=Ahmet the Master Craftsman)

Ahmet Usta started carpet mending in 1986 in Aksaray, Middle Anotolia . At first it was only a hobby for him , but it turned into no less than a job when his fingers were caught by the enchantment of silk. Being in close embrace whit silk , caressing the caroets he is to mend before starting to work on them , and when the repair is over after days or months, spreading them on the floor and taking his time to inspect them happily is like some kind of spiritual ceremony for him.The fact that the base metarial is expensive .A bad repair on a very valuable silken carpet pulls the value of the item down a great deal .It even causes the artifact to be left unsold.A good repair nearly re-creates the carpet , blessing the silk and the effort put into it. Silken carpet repairsers provide an affirmative contribution to the aconomy aas they enable re-appreciation of an artifact on the brink of losing all of its value...

Effort's Due
The repair of silsken carpets is a demanding job that requires patience ,skill and effort. Unfortunately ,the new genaretion does not seem tu put forward enough masters in the recent years . sOne of the masters points out the resemblance between themselves and the ibis birds under the threat of extinction :"The youth wants to earn a lot of money at once.Repairing silken carpets, on the other hand, yields a hidg income only when you manage the mastery, not caryying you very high before you give a number of your years to it. But once you get the hang of the skill ,no one is better than you... "

The decrease in the production of silken carpets is of course another important reason of the fact that there are not enough new master craftsmen.The shrinking market leaves little room for its laborers.And they complain as much about the state of the market as they do about their eyes , passesthrough the barain and ends at the fingertips.It is as if they have eyes at the tips of their fingers.

Ahmet Usta receives invitations every year from exhibitions abroad and presents shows upon the delicacies of weaving and repairing silken carpets.He displays the turkish silk which is among the best in the world and the qualty carpets that are made of it. While hye's doing all of these ,I wonder how many of the spectators, if ever at all,notice the presence of the eyes on his fingertips.



Copyriht @ Antika Halı Tamircisi 2007