Buldan – Home of Handmade Turkish Towels

Buldan is home to the tradition of hand-woven Turkish towels. It is a district in Denizli, which is the textile capital of Turkey.

Buldan’s textiles were famous even in early Ottoman times. 17th century Ottoman documents mention Buldan's importance as a textile production centre. The origin of Buldan’s reputation is coming from a special piece, a thin handwoven fabric, which was mostly used for bed covers and tablecloths.  

In 1390, Ottoman Sultan Beyazid I, personally ordered his kaftan and peshtemals to be hand-woven in Buldan and before his marriage with Hafsa Hatun.

Back in 1800s, the people from the town could weave forty thousand pieces of 100% cotton coloured striped cloths which were used for and mattress clothes. They could also weave over one-half million handkerchiefs and a large number of cotton curtains.

Turkish towels, (peshtemal) was another famous piece of textile that brought fame to the region. Thanks to sizable production effort and interest from all over the empire in Buldan products, the number of looms in Buldan had risen to 1,500 by the end of the 19th century.