A nomad baby was born on a carpet. All his life, he would sit on carpets, sleep on carpets, and live on carpets. When he died, he would be wrapped in a carpet for burial. The women used the wool from the sheep or goats to make the carpets. They spun the yarn, died it with natural dyes from flowers or plants or roots, wove the kilims, knotted the carpets, and created the designs.
Experts can tell many things about a carpet or a kilim, by looking at the colors and the design.
A design was passed from mother to child, and certain designs identify certain groups of people. The geographical location can be known by the colors because the women used what grew in their area. But the carpets, Meli told us, are like the ancient fountain near our hotel - taken for granted and neglected. As the people settled into villages and cities, the role of the woman changed. By the time of the sultans, women were no longer the ones in power, but had become decorative symbols in luxurious palaces, and the pawns of men.