Oriental rug

Istanbul is hosting the 15th International Conference on Oriental Carpets (ICOC) starting today and will continue through June 9.

The proceeds of the "Women Behind the Weaving Loom" exhibition, which will take place in the ballroom during the conference to be held at The Marmara Taksim, will be donated to the weaving workshop to be established in Hatay.

Christie's has announced the Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds including Oriental Rugs and Carpets, a live auction at Christie's on April 27. The sale features striking examples of manuscripts, paintings, ceramics, metalwork, and carpets.

British auction house Christie's will offer collectors a chance to purchase the rare portraits of six Ottoman sultans - Orhan Gazi, Bayezid I, Isa Chelebi, Mehmed I, Selim I and Selim II - when they go under the hammer on Oct. 28.

The portraits are expected to fetch a total of 800,000 to 1.2 million pounds ($1.1 million - $1.64 million).

Mamluk style handmade carpets woven by women in Turkey's eastern Iğdır province are adorning homes in Japan.

In a joint project by the Turkish Employment Agency and Iğdır University, Turkish carpets were exported to Japan by women who are new to the profession.

Motifs that have been designed by women on the world-famous Bünyan and Yahyalı carpets for centuries have been researched by the Kayseri Maturity Institute and their meanings have been registered.

Turkmenistan's leader on Tuesday hailed as "historic" the announcement that its traditional hand-woven carpets have been recognised as global cultural heritage by the United Nations.

Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov said it was "evidence of world recognition of our marvellous carpets" and will help promote them abroad.

Tens of thousands of hand-woven "postmortem rugs" -- some being centuries old -- were collected by government officials across Turkey for maintenance and classification to be transferred to the coming generations

A Turkish entrepreneur collects old Anatolian rugs, kilims and many other authentic pieces he finds in villages across Turkey, restores them and sells them to customers in the US, Europe and Far East