What is Weaving?
Weaving is the textile art in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads, called the warp and weft, are interlaced with each other to form a fabric or cloth.
The warp threads run lengthways of the piece of cloth, and the weft runs across from side to side. Cloth is woven on a loom, a device for holding the warp threads in place while the filling threads are woven through them.
Weft is an old English word meaning "that which is woven".Woven cloth can be plain (in one color or a simple pattern), or it can be woven in decorative or artistic designs which requires more complicated looms with more heddles (that which the warp threads are threaded through to hold the warp threads in place).
Up until 20 years ago, there were still many weaving villages In Turkey. Each home had a loom dug into the sitting room. The hole was covered with a special white clay to help to collect the dust. The weaver, in this case usually the woman of the family, sat inside the hole with her torso above ground and would weave for the family. She would have also carried the responsibility of teaching both her sons and daughters how to weave. Sons would grow up to be commercial weavers and daughters would grow up to be the weavers for the family and the teachers of the next generation.
Today, there are very, very few of these looms left. The video on the top right is of a woman who is the last person in her village to have a loom dug into the sitting room.
The more typical full hand loom of today is above ground like the one in the 2nd picture from the top right, but these too are few and far between.
The impact? None of the children are learning to weave; therefore, there are no men growing up to be commercial weavers nor or there women growing up to weave for their family or teach the next generation.
The conclusion is that in one more generation, the entire art of weaving could be lost in Turkey unless something is done to help save it. All the hundreds of years of knowledge will slip away. Already, 95%+ of the items bought by consumers around the world are made on factory machine. Most us of have no idea what we have lost in quality of product and its last-ability.
It is our aim at Jennifer's Hamam to help preserve the art of weaving and to support local artisans; to promote their product and its quality to the sector of the market that realizes the benefits of buying woven materials from old-style looms and who appreciate the human factor in textile.
What is a Hamam?
The Hamam is an ancient steam bath concept that goes back as far as the Romans who passed on the idea to the Byzantines and then on to the Turks. Although the concept can be found throughout the world, it's the Turks who named it and have embraced it since Ottoman times.
Islam emphasizes personal cleanliness and until recent decades when the addition of the private shower was introduced in the home, the Turks relied on the hamam to take care of all their personal hygiene needs. The Hamam became a place to socialize, sing & dance, find a wife for your son, have great political discussions, conduct important business meetings and to relax with other members of the community of the same sex. Most Turks, men & women, went every day to the hamam, but for the Ottomans, this was always an event that separated the sexes. Even today, most hamams have separate facilities for the men & women or at least separate hours. It is only recently with the influx of tourism that the invention of the mixed hamam was created.
Since the arrival of the private shower in most Turkish bathrooms, the number of visitors in the Hamams have greatly decreased. Today, Turks tend to visit the hamam only when the need arises; such as at the onset of a cold or muscle pain. It's thought that going to the hamam will help to fight off colds & flus.
History of the Towel
The towel was a very important part of Turkish social life and continues to be so. Originally, it had many uses such as, for the ceremonial bath of a bride before her wedding and for important occasions later in life. Of course, the hamam also has had an undeniable relationship with these towels, as had the royalty of the Ottoman Empire. The towel would still be a drab piece of cloth were it not for the the intercession of the Ottomans in the 17th century. Especially, thanks must go to the women in the palace that pushed their weavers to make more and more exquisite pieces. They brought style, design and flair to towels.
The hamam towel, called PESTAMEL was and still is as flat woven piece of material, which was long enough to wrap around the body, but quite narrow to start; later, it grew to be wider. Now most pestamel are about 90cm x 170cm. Originally, most pieces were made with cotton and/or linen and then embroidered by hand. They were very practical for the hamam as they stayed light when wet and were very absorbent.
Each generation of women in the palace continued to demand new designs, more beautiful pieces and with all this creative drive being thrust upon the weavers the birth of the first looped towel happened sometime in the 18th century. The new invention was called 'havly' and it sported rows of loops making up little rectangular clusters.
The weavers had cleverly used a second warp thread and pulled it above the surface of the towel and then locked it in place along the length of the warp thread with the shuttle or weft thread. As time went on, they increased the number of looping threads until soon the entire 'havly' was covered in loops. This was the beginning of what we know to be a towel today. Over time, the name 'havly' has changed to havlu in Turkish, which means 'with loops.' There are only three families of weavers left in Turkey who still know how do to this technique on the old-style looms. An art that is truly on the edge of extinction; one which Jennifer's Hamam is dedicated to saving.
