Abstract
The equivalent meaning of Beledi in the dictionary is ‘A kind of cloth, a native fabric’.It is known as ‘Veledi’ in Konya, as ‘Beledi’ in Bursa, Manisa and Tire and as ‘Karaoğlan dimisi’ (twill) In other regions (Özbel 1949: 3). The most distinctive feature which distinguishes Beledi weavings from other hand weavings is it’s double-layer weaving.Motifs connect both sides of the fabric. Due to this feature, it is also possible to say that it is a fairly strong and durable type of weaving. The main motifs seen in these weavings are almond, boxed, ‘celebiş’, ‘tireiş’, mirrored and starry. Apart from those motifs, there are also motifs that are called by different names and there are some which have never been named. In general, the surface arrangement of Beledi weavings has two forms; One is a surface arrangement formed by the continuous repetition of a motif side by side or on top of each other and the other is a surface arrangement, in which one or more motifs are used together in special shapes within a limited spaces (Özbel 1949: 5).
In the archive of the Traditional Turkish Arts Department of the Faculty of Fine Arts of Dokuz Eylül University, there are records of the interviews with weaving masters living in Tire in different years (1979, 1999, 2003, 2021) regarding this special weaving.The information contained in these documents is available in the article.
In our meeting on September 10, 2021, weaving master Salim expressed that he was very happy especially that his daughter and granddaughter decided to continue the weaving business. His belief in the revival of weaving at a time when he thought that the Tire-Beledi weaving was completely over, and it is gratifying that he saw that the profession of his ancestors would continue amd flourish in the hands of next generations.The Tire Beledi woven geographical indication TPE has been registered as of February 28, 2020.