HATCHLU RUG

Hatchlu also spelled Katchli, also called Engsi, 6-foot (1.8-metre) rug made by various Turkmens and used to close the entrance to a tent or as a prayer rug. Its alternative name, Engsi, denotes the rug's use as the door flap of a tent. The word Hatchlu (Turkish Hali) refers to a prominent cross formation in the centre of the rug's design, most obvious in Yomud weavings. In Yomud weavings, the cross formation normally has no arch (the purpose of which is to indicate the direction of Mecca, the Holy City). The Tekke type, by contrast, displays a small five-sided arch, like a miniature Caucasian prayer-rug arch, indicating its suitability for use as a devotional carpet. The Afghan and Kizil Ayak types may have one or two small, arched central panels, and the latter also has a row of small five-sided arches across the top of the rug. Of the major Turkmen tribes, only the Ersari eschew the Hatchlu form. Tekke rugs were once marketed as Princess Bokharas.