KONYA CARPET

floor covering handwoven in or near the city of Konya, south-central Turkey, former capital of the Seljuq sultanate of Rum. The tradition of carpet weaving in Konya goes back at least to the 13th century, when the Italian traveler Marco Polo reported that the best and most beautiful carpets in the world were made in this area. Seven extant fragments of fine Konya carpets may date from that time. The 19th-century rugs ascribed to this neighbourhood are undistinguished. One series of red, green, and yellow prayer rugs showing an arcade of three stilted arches above slender columns constitutes the latest, most debased version of the column Ldiks, a type of prayer rug distinguished by the decorative use of an architectural motif.