Van

"Town east of Lake Van in eastern Turkey. A cultural crossroads, with Armenians, Kurds, Turks, Turkomans and Persians. Many interesting types of nomadic or semi-nomadic piled and flat-woven rugs produced in the area. Yagcibedir. South of Balikesir, this town and the surrounding area have recently became an important manufacturing centre. Pile knotted rugs in various sizes but characterised by their simple stylised designs, often of a 'Tree of Life', in dark tones of red and blue. " - from Oriental Rugs Volume 4 - Turkish by K.Zipper & C.Fritzsche