saudi, iran and turkey

• Saudi Arabia

  Birthplace of Islam, includes arts of Bedouin nomads and sedentary people of the Hejaz, Tihaman, Asir and Najd regions
• Saudi Arabia

  • One of the few countries with "religious police" who patrol the streets "enjoining good and forbidding wrong" by enforcing dress codes and strict separations of men and women
• First mosque of Islam

  The house of the Islamic prophet Mohammad in Medina, prototype of all later sacred architecture of Islam, contains most important floor carpets that touch the head in prayer
• Traditional clothes in Saudi Arabia

  • Loose flowing garments practical for the hot, windswept climate while symbolizing the Islamic ideal of modesty
• Carpet industry in Saudi Arabia

  Domestic carpet manufacturing industry has developed under the guidance of the government, with six factories currently engaged in production
• Carpet designs in Saudi Arabia

  • Floral, prayer rugs
• Iran


  Home to one of the world's oldest civilizations, a multicultural country with numerous ethnic and linguistic groups
• Iranian art

  • Shows great variety in style across different regions and periods, with iconographic motifs and combination as major elements
• Iranian carpet weaving


  Dates back to the Bronze Age, one of the most distinguished manifestations of Iranian art, Iran is the world's largest producer and exporter of handmade carpets
• Iranian architecture


  Displays great structure and aesthetic variety, developing gradually out of earlier tradition and experience
• Turkey


  A transcontinental Eurasian country, majority of the population are of Turkish ethnicity, with three recognized non-Muslim minority groups: Armenians, Greeks, and Jews
• Turkish painting


  • Developed actively starting from the mid 19th century, influenced by contemporary European trends such as Fauvism, Cubism, and Expressionism
• Important Turkish art movements

  • Yeniler Grubu (The Newcomer Group) - late 1930s, On'lar Grubu (Group of Ten) - 1940s, Yeni Dal Grubu (New Branch Group) - late 1950s, Siyah Kalem Grubu (Black Pen Group) - 1960s
• Turkish carpet


  A knotted, pile woven floor or wall covering produced mainly in Anatolia and neighboring areas, for home use, local sale, and export