Keeping Culture and Traditions Alive in Turkey

The Cottage Industry - A Rich Heritage

When I first arrived in Turkey in 1979, it was not unusual to see hand made carpets thrown over a centuries old wall in the villages throughout the country. Often these carpets bore the name of that particular village and the patterns and weaving techniques had been handed down from generation to generation. Our merchant friends introduced us to the quaintness and cultural heritage of the cottage industry, that is, carpets and other woven handicrafts that were actually done in the home, rather than a factory. It's a dying art form, as increasingly the younger generations in Turkey and throughout Central Asia are not interested in learning the unique, beautiful, and yes, time-consuming techniques, of their ancestors.

So, when a friend who lives in south central Turkey told me about a Cottage Industry that still weaves beaded jewelry, I was immediately interested and had to learn more. It's a thrill and honor to be able to carry these multi-strand beaded necklaces in my Nomads shop, located inside H. Raines Registry and Gift in Huntsville, AL.  This is an old tradition, done in the home, and the women who make these beautiful necklaces by hand get great satisfaction in knowing they are keeping their history and culture alive, as well as providing income for their family.

The entire process is done by hand. Stones and beads are attached to woven strands, and the necklaces come in a variety of colors, depending upon the availability of semi-precious stones. They will be for sale in Nomads, in August, so please continue to check our FaceBook page for when they arrive. Own a piece of jewelry, hand made, by women who are helping to support their families through keeping their rich traditions and handicraft techniques alive.

Ohhhhh, TALLULAH!

I'm coming up in August on the 2 year anniversary of not posting anything to this blog.  This is embarrassing, but, if the truth be known, I forgot where my blog was.  I mentioned this to a friend and she gave me a very strange look and remarked, "That's crazy.  How do you do that?"  First of all, I'm a Montgomery native and we're all crazy down here.  Who else but crazy people would start a war (It's the Civil War Sesquicentennial so bare with me.) against an enemy that outnumbered us 4 to 1 in military age men, had all the nation's industry, superior transportation systems, a Federal government that had been in existence for almost a century, and scads of money?  Second, it's easy.  I couldn't remember how to get to this blog to update so I started another one somewhere else and then lost it, too.  Well, enough of this. 

I, along with my partner, Jacque, pictured with me in period costumes, are well into our second month of leading Civil War Tours in the Huntsville and North Alabama area.  We're sitting in front of the birthplace of Tallulah Bankhead.  She has nothing to do with the Civil War, but since I've been gone for two years I decided I needed to come back with a real doozy.

Tallulah liked men, women, bourbon, cocaine, and cigarettes.  She also liked, actually had to be, the center of attention at every party.  If she wasn't, she took her clothes off and stood around in the nude.  She liked doing cartwheels while wearing no underwear.  Once a delivery boy came to her door and she answered the door in the nude, grasping between pointer and middle finger her ever present cigarette in it's long holder.  His mouth dropped wide open.  She asked, "What's wrong?  Haven't you ever seen a woman smoke a cigarette before?"

She, like many other actresses in her day, desperately wanted the role of Scarlett O'Hara.  Being a Southern women, many down in these parts believed she would indeed be chosen for the role.  Well, she wasn't.  Why, you ask?  First of all, she had a bad reputation that Margaret Mitchell in her wildest dreams could not have come up with.  Second, she was 36 years old and it was doubtful she could have pulled off the opening barbecue scene when Scarlett is only 16.  Or, was she 18 and her waistline 16?  I seem to have forgotten. 

She drove a Bentley, but having no sense of direction, had to call a cab which she then followed in her own car.  Preferring the stage to movies, she spent time in London, but was threatened with arrest for corrupting the young men of Eaton.

Once at a party with Eleanor Roosevelt Tallulah had to go to the ladies room, and invited Eleanor to come with her.  She kept the stall door open, dropped her pants, sat on the toilet, and continued her conversation with the First Lady.  Upon learning that Shirley Temple was often filmed through gauze, Tallulah remarked that perhaps she should be filmed through linoleum.

Ahhh, we sure know how to turn them out down here, don't we?  I think it was Laurel Ulrich who said, "Well behaved women seldom make history."  And with this I will close.