In the Sultanhanı district of the Central Anatolian province of Aksaray, where historical carpets from around the world are repaired, an expert of the business describes his job by saying: “We perform a face transplant on the carpet.”
A significant part of Sultanhanı’s population work in carpet restoration ateliers. It is mostly men who work in these ateliers, and carpet restoration can take many months as it is often painstaking work.
The owner of the Sultanhanı Atelier, Fahri Solak, said it had become the world’s most important carpet restoration center thanks to its experience and quality. Nearly 1,500 people are working in 30 ateliers across Sultanhanı. “Carpets are our fathers’ business. Around 3,000 to 4,000 people know how to do it in the district, which has a population of 11,000 people. The restoration quality was low at first, but now everyone is doing the job professionally. We are the world’s most important carpet restoration center. For example, if you ask a carpet seller in the U.S. they know Sultanhanı very well, but not the wider province of Aksaray. The name of the district is definitely mentioned in carpet catalogues,” Solak said.
