Alaca Camili Kilim
The Alaca Camili Kilim is a traditional hand-woven kilim produced in the village of Büyükcamili, in Alaca district. The village takes its name from the historic mosque (cami) within it; its people live by farming and animal husbandry, and kilim weaving developed as part of this village economy.
Geographical Indication Registration
The kilim is registered with the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office’s geographical indications registry as a Mahreç İşareti (Protected Geographical Indication) — Application No. C2023/000092, filed 01.03.2023, Registration No. 1578. The registration, obtained through an application by Alaca Municipality, formally recognises the kilim as a production method native to Alaca.
Making and Colours
The wool used in the kilim is coloured through natural dyeing methods: chimney soot (baca kurumu), tetire herb, dried beet and dye-plants (boya otu) are the principal materials used in this process. According to the Çorum Governorate, the earliest weavings of the kilim were dominated by red, yellow and black, while blue, green, brown and various intermediate tones were added over time — a sign of the colour evolution the kilim has undergone across the centuries.
Why It Matters
The Alaca Camili Kilim is one of the few local products that formally protects and carries forward the district’s knowledge of natural dyeing alongside its hand-weaving tradition. For other geographically-indicated products from Alaca, see our Geographically-Indicated Products of Çorum page, and for the district’s history, see Alaca History.