Writer: Ayça Olcaytu İşçen
January 2010/Ankara

The natural and cultural heritage of Cappadocia has a great impact on the development of handcrafts in the region. The existing pieces has examples of tuff, argillaceous and onyx, the reflections of rich history and folkloric traditions; in another word many things from the characteristics of the region. The handcrafts of the region consist of pottery, carpet and rug weaving, onyx stone dressing and hand made baby dolls.
Whereas Avanos is known as the center for handcrafts in the region, Soğanlı Village of Kayseri is famous for hand made baby dolls (for details please see Kayseri). Beside this, the locals of Hacıbektaş in Nevşehir dress grainy (has more than one color) onyx stone which has yellow, pink, red and white colors and turns it into the accessories. 

Carpet weaving centers in Cappadocia
Today, Aksaray, Kayseri, Niğde and especially Nevşehir are almost natural carpet weaving ateliers. There is a long-established carpet weaving tradition in these provinces. Along with woolen carpets, richness in plain weaved ‘yaygı’ (something spread over a piece of furniture or on the ground as a cover) attracts attention. Aksaray, a carpet center since Seljuk period, found its identity with Taşpınar carpets, today. Kayseri is also known as a carpet center since Seljuk period. Today, Bünyan and Yahyalı boroughs of Kayseri are mostly known with carpet business and kilim weaving is common in other boroughs such as Pınarbaşı, Sarız, Tomarza, Yeşilhisar and Gömülgen. Also, Niğde neighborhood is famous with carpets and kilims. In Ortaköy of Bor borough of Niğde, carpet weaving, in Akçakent and Çukurköy, kilim weaving is common. Ancient and original pieces of Cappadocia carpets can be seen in elite stores.

Pottery
The pottery dates to Neolithic period in Anatolian history (BC 8000-5500) and the first examples were found in Çatalhöyük (Konya), a tumulus close to Cappadocia. The history of the pottery in the region also goes back to Hittites. So to say, the pottery is a bridge between the civilizations and generally it descends from father to son. In Cappadocia region, Avanos is the center of pottery.
The characteristic separates the pottery of Avanos from the others in Turkey and in the world is the clay used. After the long processes, the tuff and argillaceous clay taken from the surrounding mountains and old beds of Kızılırmak River, turns into magical clay. Later on experienced hands start to shape it. The other difference of Avanos pottery is its being hand made on the benches without using any kind of molds and also its being hand dressing which makes it unique. None of the pots produced has a twin; they are all unique to their owners.
In the past the clay of Avanos was being used for creating commodities for usage such as long lasting food bins, cheese and grape molasses pots, water and wine jugs but today the adventure of Avanos clay follows a different path. As the tourism in the region developed, the pieces are being produced for decorations rather than for daily usage. The decorative plates from square to circle even tear shape forms and sizes, the vases, wall panels and figurines as well as copy of Hittite and Phrygian pieces can be seen on the walls of pottery shops, which are mostly carved into the rocks. On request, they produce special pieces.

Note: This text and firm presentation writings have been published in “Cappadocia Life and Travel Guide-2010”. It is under protection of the copyrights of the book. No part of this article may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by electronic, mechanical or other means without prior permission from the owner. www.cappadociaexplorer.com