A Yürük rug is a traditional

tribal The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

rug woven in

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

by the

Yörüks The Yörüks, also Yuruks or Yorouks (; , ''Youroúkoi''; ; , ''Juruci''), are a Turkish ethnic subgroup of Oghuz descent, some of whom are nomadic, primarily inhabiting the mountains of Anatolia, and partly in the Balkan peninsula. On the Bal ...

, a Turkish ethnic subgroup. Yürük rugs have a long shaggy pile, tied with

Ghiordes knot A knotted-pile carpet is a carpet containing raised surfaces, or pile (textile), piles, from the cut off ends of knots weaving, woven between the warp and weft. The Ghiordes/Turkish knot and the Senneh/Persian knot, typical of Anatolian rug, Anat ...

s. The

warp Warp, warped or warping may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books and comics * WaRP Graphics, an alternative comics publisher * ''Warp'' (First Comics), comic book series published by First Comics based on the play ''Warp!'' * Warp (comics), a D ...

and the filler (the

weft In the manufacture of cloth, warp and weft are the two basic components in weaving to transform thread (yarn), thread and yarn into textile fabrics. The vertical ''warp'' yarns are held stationary in tension on a loom (frame) while the horizo ...

between the knots) is generally composed of sheep's wool or goat hair. The rugs have large geometric motifs in bright colors on a dark brown background; the colors are often described as brilliant. The sides of the rugs are either

selvage A selvage (US English) or selvedge (British English) is a "self-finished" edge of a piece of fabric which keeps it from unraveling and fraying. The term "self-finished" means that the edge does not require additional finishing work, such as hem ...

d, frequently with goat hair, or overcast with colored yarn, and the ends have a braided

fringe Fringe may refer to: Arts and music * "The Fringe", or Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival * Adelaide Fringe, the world's second-largest annual arts festival * Fringe theatre, a name for alternative theatre * Purple fri ...

. The design of Yürük rugs resembles rugs of the Kazak region more than Anatolia. The use of a

latch hook Rug hooking is both an art and a craft where rugs are made by pulling loops of yarn or fabric through a stiff woven base such as burlap, linen, or rug warp. The loops are pulled through the backing material by using a crochet-type hook mounted i ...

is also shared with Kazak rugs. Yürük rugs tend to be more loosely woven than other rugs from Anatolia in that there are more rows of filler between the knots. According to ''

Encyclopedia Britannica An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into article (publishing), articles or entries that are arranged Alp ...

'', there is a distinction between Yürük rugs from eastern and western Anatolia. The rugs from western Anatolia traditionally have diagonal patterns in brick red and dark blue, and highlights in ivory. These rugs are sometimes confused with Baluchi rugs, a type of Afghan rug. Eastern Anatolian Yürük rugs have hexagonal and lozenge patterns with offset knots that produce diagonal, rather than vertical, rows.

References

Turkic rugs and carpets Turkish rugs and carpets {{Turkey-culture-stub