📍Feriköy Antika Pazarı - Flea Market in Istanbul
This is chafing dish that is used for keeping the dishes warm after is done.
This is a horse shoe that is used to help get rid of your bad lucks or catch your good luck. It is usually hang on the door of your home. The image on the left means you want to get rid of your bad fortunes.
This is a decorative wooden spoon that people place in their homes or gift to each other. A spoon is like our phone these days, if you left your spoon at home, you would go back home and bring it with you. Before the advent of modern hygiene standards, bringing a personal spoon to eat out was a way to ensure cleanliness and avoid potential health risks from using communal or poorly cleaned utensils. For higher ranked officials or wealthy people, would bring their own to prevent anyone from poisoning them. A lot of Ottoman dishes were stews, soups, etc. so spoons were the utensil that you must bring with you.
Hammam water bucket for kids to play with while the mom can relax and enjoy their time in the Hammam. The little fish inside moves with water so it will keeps the kids occupied. This is something I really really want to buy but I don’t have a place to put it so couldn’t. This is one object, I will come back one day to get. This object also made me realize that I have a great passion for toys and objects for kids.
Ottoman Table where people sit around the table on the floor to eat and drink. Often times, families has multiple so they can take out more when there’s more guests. This tradition dates back the Ottoman times.
Cigarette box, probably belongs to a wealthy owner. It’s decorated with a lot of precious stones and intricate metal work. I was so tempted to get it because it is just so beautiful but not smoking so don’t really know what else I can put in there.
Necklace made with the technique called Filigree, which the craftsman use very very thin silver string to create all sorts of delicate designs. They all must be handmade that’s why they are usually quite expensive. I learned about this technique in Porto, Portugal too.
*Filigree, a delicate and intricate technique of metalwork, has been used by various cultures throughout history, including the Portuguese. The technique involves twisting and curling threads of precious metals—usually gold or silver—and arranging them into intricate designs, often supplemented by tiny beads. This method creates delicate, lace-like patterns in jewelry and other small metal objects.
This calligraphy right in front of the owner is actually a practice sheet of the calligrapher, it’s quite interesting to learn that the diamond symbols on this sheet is used as measuring how long each characters should be. I would never have guessed that it is just a practice sheet. All the characters makes such a beautiful pattern!
Tespih, Muslim praying beads which all have 33 beads which represents 33 names of Allah. It was only used for prayers but now it has become a symbol of masculinity in Turkey. It is an appropriate gift if you are buying a nice gift for your respected male elders and you would buy something made out of precious stones.
Calligraphy Set which is carried on the calligrapher’s belt. Back then, not everyone knows how to write so the calligrapher would walk around town and help people write letters, contracts, basically anything they need. The long compartment is for different calligraphy pen while the other compartment is for the ink.
This image on the right means you want to catch good fortunes.
This is a mold for making pastries to give different looks to the pastries that you are making. There are metal molds and also wooden molds.
Gorgeous baby’s crate that rocks.
Decorative accessories that looks like bullets for the soldier to wear while they perform some ceremony.
Turkish Samovar which is a tea maker. Traditionally, it is heated by charcoal but now most of them are electric. There’s two parts to this tea pot, top tea pot is where you put the tea leaves and steep it, while the bottom bigger pot is boiling hot water while the hot steam comes out from the top so it keeps the top tea pot warm the whole day. This way, you can drink hot tea all day. As the tea steeps, it gets stronger so every cup of tea, you mix some tea then add some hot water from the bottom.
This is a brick from Marseille, France, which was a symbol of wealth back in the days. When most houses were wooden structures, only the wealthy can build their house with brick from Marseille.
Old pressure cooker
There are two types of Turkish carpets: Ghiordes and Kilim and this carpet is a combination of two techniques.
The Ghiordes knot is made by wrapping yarn around two adjacent warp strands, then pulling the ends of the yarn between these warps and cutting them to create the pile. This results in a secure, durable pile that stands upright, giving the carpet a lush, velvety texture. The name "Ghiordes" comes from the town of Gördes in Western Turkey, a historic center for carpet making renowned for its high-quality rugs. Carpets made with the Ghiordes knot are known for their durability and the clarity of their designs, as the knot allows for a more precise depiction of intricate patterns. The Ghiordes knot is an essential part of the rich tradition of Turkish carpet weaving and is used in various regions across Turkey, each adding its local style and patterns to the technique.
Kilims are made by tightly interweaving the warp and weft strands of the weave to produce a flat surface with no pile. This technique differs from the knotted style and generally results in a thinner and lighter carpet. Like knotted carpets, kilims are primarily made from wool, but can also incorporate cotton, silk, and animal hair. Kilim designs tend to be more geometric and symbolic. The motifs used in kilims often carry specific meanings, which can be related to protection, fertility, happiness, and other cultural or religious concepts. Kilims are versatile and not just used as floor coverings. They are often used as wall hangings, prayer rugs, and in other decorative ways. Their lightweight nature makes them more portable than knotted carpets. Different regions in Turkey produce kilims with distinct styles, colors, and patterns, reflecting the diverse cultural influences within the country.
If the carpet is specifically for praying then the patterns will show a direction to it.