MELAS CARPET

floor covering handwoven in the neighbourhood of Mils (Melas) on the Aegean coast of southwestern Turkey. Normally of small size and 19th century in date, Melas carpets have unusually wide borders in relation to their narrow fields. In the prayer rugs the arch (which indicates the direction of Mecca, the Holy City) is straight-sided, with a triangular indentation below it on each side, the local reminiscence of a lobed-arch form used in the Ottoman court prayer rugs of the 16th and 17th centuries. Their colour scheme is unique: the field is usually a strong red, and yellow and violet are used often, together with a light blue that is quite variable owing to uneven dyeing. Examples that predate the use of chemical dyes are considered to be among the most attractive Turkish carpets.