Konya-made Seljuk Tiles Come to Life on Turkish TV

Artists are working longer hours to make reproductions of unique tile artifacts of the Great Seljuk (1037-1194) and Anatolian Seljuk (1077-1308) periods at the tile workshop of the Selçuklu Municipality in central Konya province. Sent to the sets of period drama TV series and films, these reproductions have brought further recognition to Seljuk tiles and boosted interest in them.

The tile workshop of the Selçuklu Municipality was established a quarter of a century ago to keep the art of Seljuk tile making alive. While copies of important artifacts made by artists during the Seljuk period are reproduced in this workshop, these artifacts are sent both to the Presidential Complex in the capital Ankara and to the sets of television series and films portraying the Seljuk period.

Selçuklu Mayor Ahmet Pekyatırmacı said that they are working to display loyalty to the Seljuk civilization, which their district in Konya is named after.

Expressing that one of these efforts is the tile workshop with its 25-year history, Pekyatırmacı noted, “The Seljuk civilization is a civilization that produced great artistic works and we want to keep the works created by this civilization alive in our tile workshop.”

Recalling that they have produced a large number of important artifacts so far, Pekyatırmacı said: “Our latest exhibition was in eastern Bitlis province during the opening of the Presidential Complex in Ahlat town. There, we presented a gift of tiles and ceramic works to both President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Devlet Bahçeli, head of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). We also send many artifacts to the Presidency, and they are presented as gifts to statespeople on special visits.”