A Short History of Magic Carpets

There are three major types of carpet weaves.

Wool on Wool (wool pile and wool warps and wefts): This is generally the least expensive type of carpet, but often the most "authentic" if such a word can be used. Wool on wool carpets have been made much longer and use more traditional designs than the other types of carpets. Because wool cannot be spun finely, the knot count is often not very high, compared to wool on cotton and silk on silk. High knot count is also not necessary for wool on wool carpets because they are often traditional geometric designs, or otherwise non-intricate patterns.

Wool on Cotton (wool pile on cotton warps and wefts): This type of carpet can be much more intricate than wool on wool carpets because cotton can be spun finely and the knot count is generally much higher. In wool on cotton rugs, floral designs etc. are also found, in addition to the geometric patterns.

Silk on Silk (silk pile on silk warps and wefts): This is the most intricate type of carpet with very fine weave. These very fine, intricately woven carpets are small, but stunningly beautiful.


Carpets have a woven base, on to which threads are knotted to produce the pile. "Warp" threads run from the top of the carpet to the bottom, and "weft" threads run from side to side. The fringes of the carpet are the protruding warp threads. Knots are tied onto the warp threads, and these knots form the pile of the carpet. Changes in the number of warp and weft threads for the base and the type of materials used lead to different numbers of knots per square inch. The density of knots per square inch is generally considered one of the indicators of technical quality. However, many extremely beautiful nomadic and village carpets are considered to be of excellent artistic, cultural and historic quality even though they have very low knot counts.

Manufacturers of carpets across the world have developed large magical devices called 'looms' which turn out carpets in quick amounts of time, but generally do not have the look of beauty that so many personally made carpets have today. So while having a flying carpet is standard in many parts of the world, owning a piece of craftsmanship still turns heads and is a well-thought-of investment.

Many carpet craftsmen sell to both Muggles and Wizards. Because of this, many parts of the orient have shops that will have a "back-room" where magic carpets are carefully displayed with space for testing, carefully kept out of muggle sight. With carpet sellers so often selling to many tastes, carpet buying itself is more of a family affair with the family going as a group to look at, admire, and try out the many varieties available. Each purchase is unique in it's look and style, so individual tastes often control this purchase.

Here are some of the current major carpet makers, but certainly not all of them.

One of the oldest wizard carpet companies still in existence is also the only one still outside of Turkey. The most renowned family of carpet weavers, the Halevis, settled in the town of Merv in Iran, where they began to introduce patterns into their carpets in the late 900s. The mandala in the center was a trademark of the original master, Jacob Yahud Halevi. The family company still makes carpets by the old secret ways, but turn out only a dozen or so hand-crafted masterpieces a year. These carpets are highly sought-after and remain the most expensive carpets in the world. The Halevis make flying carpets and art carpets and continue to make mundane carpets for the muggle world as well.

Hereke Carpets are woven in the town of Hereke, just southsoutheast of Istanbul. The carpets woven in Hereke are rare, and reside today in palaces and castles in Anatolia as well as Europe. In the late 1800's, the Turkish government sought out the most skilled carpet weavers of Anatolia and Persia and gave exclusive invitations to become residences of the town of Hereke. These Hereke carpet weavers quickly became known as the weavers of the some of the finest carpets in the world. The actual number of Hereke carpets produced in the last 120 years is relatively small. They are quite valuable and strongly sought after for their artistic style.

Hereke carpets typically are very large, palace size carpets, and are constructed with wool on cotton, camel hair on cotton, silk on cotton as well as silk on silk. The precision of their double knots as well as the color palate chosen and design detail endear them a breathtaking artistic feat. The patterns woven can be of Anatolian motifs or European motifs depending on the final destination of the commission. Many of the Hereke carpets can be identified by the weavers personal Hereke signature in a corner of the finished piece. This signature "H" helps authenticate the carpet as an original Hereke masterpiece. Today the carpets are made for display only in the wizarding world with many moving pictures of famous places and times. They no longer trade muggle carpets, thus the muggles consider theirs to be the best and rarest.

Usak carpet or Ushak carpet is a carpet woven in the city of Usak, Turkey. These carpets have been made in Usak (pronounced Ushak) for centuries. Imported by Europeans, especially as of the 15th century, they adorned cathedrals, castles, and the homes of the wealthy and powerful. The carpets are known for the minute detail & deep colors and were frequently used in muggle paintings as backdrops for portraits, never knowing the carpets powers as they were never taken down off walls. The Usak International Carpet Company exports flying carpets to most of the Orient specializing in eye-catching style.

The most common flying carpets are made by the Bergama Carpet Company in NW Turkey. Bergama carpets are of all-wool construction and have a decent knotting density. They are typically three to four meters square in size and originated from around the 14th to 15th century. Their cheapier materials, limited spells, and small sizes allowed 80 villages to band together to create the company which mass-produces hundreds of carpets a year.

Bergama carpets can be divided into these main groups by patterns: Yagcibedir, Kazdagi, Yuntdagi, Yuncu Karakecili, and Kozak. Although the history of carpet weaving in Bergama dates back to the 11th century, most surviving carpets do not age more than 100 years - mainly due to their wool content. This allows the company to produce several styles of carpets which families replace on a regular basis every few years as the spells weaken.