Izmir - Bergama

Information

Bergama (Pargauma/Pergamos:People of High City) refers to a city and its surrounding district in İzmir Province, in the Aegean Region of the Republic of Turkey. Known for its cotton, gold, and fine carpets, the city was in ancient times the Ancient Greece and Roman cultural center of Pergamon; its wealth of ancient ruins continues to attract considerable tourist interest today. The ruins of the ancient city of Pergamon lie to the north and west of the modern city; Roman Pergamon is believed to have sustained a population of approximately 150,000 at its height in the first century AD
Bergama is also renowned for its high quality carpets. There are approximately eighty villages that still weave Bergama carpets. The history of carpet weaving in Bergama dates back to the 11th century - when Turkish migration started to the area. Bergama carpets have almost always been woven with wool - an attestation to the pastoral life style of the Yörük clans populating the area at the time.