Carpets left to fade in Turkey sun

Every summer in Döşemealtı, a Mediterranean coastal province in Antalya, Turkey, second-hand carpets are laid in fields so that the colours will fade to pastel colours under the sweltering summer sun. The carpets are usually left out in July, but due to unusually hot weather, carpet laying started in May this year.

Speaking to Hurriyet Daily News, carpet maker Can Börekçi said:

“We keep carpets in the sun for days to get rid of everything except organic root dye and wool.”

After the colours have faded, Börekçi repairs them ready for sale. The carpets are collected from a wide area, and thousands of them are laid in a large area of land known by locals as the “carpet fields”. Faded Turkish carpets are highly sort after and can cost £2,000 or more.

The Covid-19 pandemic affected carpet sales due to travel restrictions on buyers coming to Turkey. In the 2000s, about 50,000 carpets were put in the fields, but this has reduced to around 15,000.

Most people with carpets in Chester and North Wales homes prefer unfaded ones. A quality carpet will last a long time, and modern dyes are fade resistant so that colours remain vibrant.

Anyone that wants faded carpets is advised not to leave their carpets out in the garden, as the UK’s sunlight is not hot enough to fade colours, and the high rainfall the country experiences will damage the carpet. Pastel shade carpets are available for those who don’t want deeper coloured carpets.