WHY SO NAMED.--The word "Yuruk" means mountaineer, and the rugs are so named because they are woven by the mountaineers who wander with their flocks on the southern and middle ranges of Anatolia.
KNOT.--Ghiordes. Number vertically six to twelve; number horizontally seven to ten; number to square inch fifty-six to one hundred twenty.
WARP.--Brown wool or goats' hair. Frequently dyed.
WOOF.--Brown wool or goats' hair. Frequently dyed.
NAP.--Fine, long, fluffy, lustrous wool, sometimes mixed with goats' hair.
SIDES.--Selvaged with goats' hair or overcast with colored yarns.
ENDS.--Narrow colored webs with warp ends braided.
BORDER.--Usually two or three stripes, which are, as a rule, rather narrow in proportion to the size of the rug.
PREVAILING COLORS.--Brilliant dark colors. Browns and blues seem to predominate.
DESIGNS.--Large, irregular, rude geometrical designs, somewhat similar to those of the Kazak. The latch hook is frequently employed.
PRICES.--From $1.50 to $3.00 per square foot.
REMARKS.--Antiques glossy and rare. The modern ones are invariably crooked and lack symmetry, but wear well. In many respects they resemble the Kazaks.
In design this piece is more Caucasian than Turkish. The main border design is similar to those so frequently found in the old Shirvans. Note the letter S, borders, the tarantulas and the swastikas.
WHY SO NAMED.--After a town by that name lying in the mountains less than one hundred miles north of Smyrna, where they are made.
KNOT.--Ghiordes. Number vertically four to eight; number horizontally four to ten; number to square inch sixteen to eighty.
[Illustration: AK HISSAR PRAYER RUG Size 5'9" × 3'7" PROPERTY OF COLONEL GEORGE G. BRIGGS, GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.]
SIDES.--Usually overcast, occasionally selvaged.
ENDS.--Narrow web at each end with loose warp threads.
BORDER.--Similar to those of the Ghiordes.
PREVAILING COLORS.--Mostly dark green, red, and blue, with some white.
DYES.--Like most of the Turkish rugs, the moderns are apt to be chemically dyed.
DESIGNS.--Similar to those of the Ghiordes and Oushak.
SIZES.--From four to six by six to eight feet.
REMARKS.--Similar to the modern Ghiordes. Very few reach the United States.
MAJ. L. B. LAWTON'S DESCRIPTION.--A typical specimen, showing double and single latch hooks in the niche. The eight borders might cause a beginner to name the rug Kulah, except for the reason that Kulahs are paler in tone and usually much larger, and decidedly thinner. A good Ak Hissar is intrinsically worth as much as a Kulah of same quality, but, being less rare, may be had for about ten per centum of the cost of a Kulah. This Ak Hissar is a study in rose and green; the niche is rose, the oblong field is green; inside border is canary, next is black; other borders alternate rose and ivory. The pattern above the niche is a Ghiordes conceit, as is the main border.