Kayseri , the capital of a vilayet in central Anatolia , has an important history. The Hittite settlers called it Mazaka; under the Romans (Trainan Ceasarea) it became Eusebeia, and from the 11 th century, after the Seljuk conquered the town, it became known as Kayseri . A great number of knotted carpets are made in and around Kayseri , both in workshops and by hired labour at home. Old or very old Kayseri carpets, with the warp of cotton, and with richly decorated medallions and the traditional prayer pattern, have become a rarity.
All natural dyes are paramount for the carpet to have more than just decorative value. Beyond that, various dyers had varying levels of skill and invested different lengths of time in dyeing the yarns. The “quality of color”–its radiance and level of nuance within each color–is centrally important. Certain rare colors such as Tyrian purple, saffron yellow, cochineal rose and greens add to the carpet’s value
