Setting out to Beyoğlu to check out the masters

Fortunately, master craftsmen from all around Turkey dropped everything they were doing and came to İstanbul just so the rest of us could get to know them, learn about their crafts, take a look at a weaving loom possibly for the first time, learn how evil eye charms are heated in ovens, how a cane is carved and how felt is made.

Over 80 craftsmen from 25 provinces are displaying their crafts, providing information about their talents to the curious people of İstanbul and selling their masterpieces in one of the most crowded squares of İstanbul. There's no other way so many masters could be found in the same place at the same time. There's nothing better than being able to travel from Sivas to Kütahya or from Çorum to Aydın in just a few steps. Of course, there are some side effects to seeing so many products meticulously made from the purest and most natural materials all in the same place. Looking at the goods, ranging from silk shawls and thrown silk to bronze pitchers and wooden carvings, may cause you to feel dazed with mixed emotions of gratitude and pure admiration.

Innovative kutnu master Muhittin: A master weaver of kutnu -- a silk and cotton blend fabric that is produced in Gaziantep -- came to İstanbul from Gaziantep and arranged his tiny shop with bundles of fabric. The elegance of the colors and designs are just to die for. As in the Ottoman period, silk and cotton thread is woven on hand looms, but the fabric is no longer used to make caftans for sultans, it is used to make tablecloths and curtains instead. Through a recent innovation, master Muhittin has managed to make thin shawls without losing the color and design of the kutnu fabric.

English-import -- felt-maker crazy Mehmet: As he spins the felt with all his strength, “felt-maker crazy Mehmet,” as he calls himself, says it's a shame that he was only recognized after he moved to England and not while he was in Konya, where he made felt for more than 40 years. From what he shared about his experiences in Europe and how he's done more than just teach Europeans how to make felt, it's clear that his title is a well-earned one. “The English said they discovered felt. I said to them, ‘Say we discovered the ship, we colonized the world, but don't say we found felt.' If that had been the case, you would not be asking me to teach you how to make it,” he says.

People think his Efe boots are ladies' boots: Master İzzet from Aydın is upset that his Efe boots -- named after the notorious bandits and leaders of outlaws and soldiers in Anatolia that are today recalled for their courageous acts -- were mistaken for ladies' boots. Apparently the men of İstanbul were not showing any interest in the boots, which were a symbol of valor. “I guess our Efe culture has been completely forgotten,” İzzet says, adding that he came to the festival to promote the culture and not necessarily to sell his boots. He says he makes enough money as a cobbler. İzzet makes around 20 to 30 pairs of special Efe boots and generally sells them to either cameleers or folk dancers. In his shop, there is a photograph from 60 years ago. All the young village men in the photo are wearing boots that come up to their knees. Nowadays, no brave fellow would wear them. Generally the boots are very expensive, usually around TL 500 a pair, but they are being sold at the festival for TL 450. The boots are expensive because they are made in traditional ways that are very time consuming.

Culture Ministry called as I was closing shop: Just when Haluk, the knife master from Giresun, was getting reading to close down his shop, feeling distressed because he was unable to find an apprentice to whom he could entrust his store, he received a telephone call from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The official on the other end of the line said: “Come to the Golden Hands festival. It will be good for you.” Believing that there may be a hidden reason behind the invitation, the shop owner gathered his collection of cabbage and basket knives, made from antlers, juniper, box weed and rose trees, and made it in time for the festival. There are no words to describe the magnificence of the knives decorated with unique carvings, which are sharp for at least seven years and last for 70. Haluk guarantees sharpening and fixing for the knife's lifetime.

Although everything looks fine and peachy at the festival, it's unclear whether he will be able to continue his craft afterwards. Aside from the worry of trying to make a living, will he be able to find a qualified apprentice who will be worth teaching the profession? What qualifications must a qualified apprentice have, we ask him, and he replies: “I am waiting for an honest and kind person who is not fake and doesn't have tricks up his sleeve. A person that does not have a good character cannot carry out this profession anyway.”

Kastamonu's woven fabric or Rize's cloth? Kastamonu is one of the few cities where hand looms have become popular again. Centuries-old dowry goods are being brought out from old chests, but talented people have been weaving fabrics of a similar quality for some time now. Embroidering table cloths with old-fashion napkin designs has brought in some business. However, the masters haven't received their due attention. Mustafa Temekoğlu, a festival participant, said the first year people confused Kastamonu's woven fabrics with Rize's cloth. This year the situation is “not too bad,” he says.

Lady from Aydın creating masterpieces with a needle: Very few of the “golden hands” belong to women. Gülcan Klavuz from Aydın is attending the festival to exhibit her thrown silk tablecloths and floral embroideries. In this day and age, when preparing home accessories for a girl's dowry is a neglected art, the crafts Klavuz can make are simply amazing, adding value to these products. She's also interested in the theoretical aspect of her art. Klavuz visited libraries to research needlepoint lace in depth and is now preparing her own book on the subject.