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| Interesting fish design |
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| Ceramics Factory in Avanos |
From Cavusin, we headed straight to the town of Avanos about 8 km from Goreme. Set on the banks of Kizilirmak (Red River), Avanos is famous for its ceramics in the Cappadocia region. We visited the Guray Ceramics Factory to have a closer look how ceramics are produced in this region. The factory is run by the 5th. generation of the Tusyuz family with 70 other employees.
Here, they produce two types of ceramics; the white clay ceramics which contains silica and the red clay ceramics which is high in iron. The river is the source of the red clay, while the white clay is drawn from the white volcanic soil.
The tour began with a briefing on how the clay are shaped, drawn and painted. Then, an artisan demonstrated how a pot is made using the traditional kick-wheel technique. Although, it looked easy and effortless but it was not so when one of us was given a chance to make one. Simultaneously kicking the wheel and shaping the clay is not an easy task! But today they used automated wheel and mould to shape their clay.
As usual, towards the end of the visit, we were brought to the amazing showroom and were shown the collection of ceramics produced by the factory. Extremely beautiful and they make wonderful souvenirs but very expensive. The finer the design and quality, the more expensive it gets. They can cost thousands of US dollars!
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| Goblets made from white clay - ready for painting |
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| Loads of red clay |
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| Lovely collection of the Hittite designs |
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| A collection of several pieces with tulip motifs |
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| The tulip motif is a famous design |
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| Again the tulip motifs decorate the center of the plate |
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| In Iznik style |
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| My favorite is an intricate family-design on the plate |
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| An artist hand-painted the Hittite jug |
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| She paints the white clay |
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| Making a pot using the kick-wheel technique |
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