Milas

Style of textiles, particularly floor coverings, handwoven in the neighborhood of Melas, southwestern Turkey, on the Aegean coast. The rugs are characterized as being usually of small size, dating from the 19th century, and having 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. The color scheme is unique among similar carpets: the field is usually a strong red, with yellow and violet 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.