Hassan Rouhani visits Rome as Iran seeks new business deals with Europe
Iran President Hassan Rouhani flew into Italy on Monday looking to reap the economic and political dividends from the lifting of international sanctions imposed over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear programme.

Rouhani will also visit the Vatican and France on his first overseas trip since the nuclear deal came into force earlier this month, clearing the way for Iran to rebuild its relationship with the West.

The Iranian leader touched down in Rome accompanied by more than 100 ministers, officials and businessmen who are expected to help him clinch deals worth billions in trade and investment, topped by a major order for new Airbus planes.

He smiled broadly for the cameras at Italy’s presidential palace before being ushered away for a working lunch with Italian President Sergio Mattarella, the first appointment in a five-day trip.

The fight against the Islamic State group, whose attacks on Paris forced Rouhani to delay a trip originally scheduled for November, and the war in Syria are expected to feature highly in diplomatic contacts during the visit.

Rouhani, 67 and a former academic and diplomat, is seen as a pragmatist who was elected in 2013 on a pledge to end sanctions and improve relations with the West.

He was scheduled to meet Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi on Monday evening and will be received by Pope Francis on Tuesday and by French President Francois Hollande on Wednesday.

“We have had friendly relations with Italy and France in the past and we want to continue our good relations with them,” Rouhani told reporters before his departure on Monday from Mehrabad Airport.

He also revealed that “important contracts” were in the works with French car makers Peugeot and Renault, adding to a burgeoning list of deals being struck as European companies scramble to get back into a $400-billion (370-billion-euro) economy with the fourth biggest reserves of oil in the world and a consumer market of 80 million people.

National carrier Iran Air said on Sunday it would be buying 114 Airbus planes to modernise an ageing fleet that has struggled to stay in the air as a result of the impact of sanctions.

The deal, to be signed in Paris this week, underlines the huge economic stakes involved in Iran’s re-opening, particularly for Europe’s manufacturing and engineering sectors.

Iran’s Transport Minister Abbas Akhoundi said the first Airbuses were earmarked for delivery by March and that Iran was in the market for a total of up to 500 planes.

Peugeot is tipped to forge a car assembly joint venture with Iran Khodro, reviving a partnership which generated Iranian sales of 473,000 units in its last year before the French company pulled out in 2012.

Iranian media reported the deal will involve investment of 500 million euros.

Iran’s Central Bank governor said last week the country was counting on the nuclear deal unblocking some $50 billion worth of foreign investment.

Italian companies have been amongst the quickest off the blocks with a major business delegation having visited Tehran in November and some 500 entrepreneurs invited to a forum Rouhani will attend on Tuesday.

Italy was formerly Iran’s biggest European trading partner but trade has dwindled to a fifth of its former volume as a result of the sanctions.

Italian media are predicting deals this week worth 17 billion euros, topped by a five-billion-euro contract for pipeline company Saipem.

National carrier Alitalia said Monday it was upgrading its Rome-Tehran service from four a week to a daily flights in anticipation of increased business and tourist travel.

Amid the scramble for slices of the Iranian pie, rights groups fear Tehran’s repression of political dissent and extensive use of the death penalty will be forgotten.

Pope Francis is expected to reiterate the Vatican’s concerns on both issues, as well as asking Rouhani to help protect Christians in the Middle East.

Soltanieh Dome the Second one’s in the World

The Mausoleum of Oljaytu was constructed in 1302–12 CE in the city of Soltanieh, the capital of the Ilkhanid dynasty, which was founded by the Mongols.

Situated in the province of Zanjan, Soltanieh is one of the outstanding examples of Persian architecture and a key monument in development of Islamic architecture. The octagonal building is crowned with a 50-meter dome ― covered in turquoise-blue faience. It is surrounded by eight slender minarets. It is the earliest example of the double-shelled dome which still exists in Iran. The mausoleum’s interior decoration is also outstanding.

The Mausoleum of Oljaytu plays an important role in the development of Islamic architecture in central and western Asia, from the classical Seljuk phase into the Timurid period. This is particularly relevant to the double-shelled structure.

Soltanieh, as ancient capital of the Ilkhanid dynasty, represents an exceptional testimony to the history of the 13th and 14th centuries CE.

The Mausoleum of Oljaytu is characterized by its innovative structure, spatial proportions, architectural forms, and the decorative patterns and techniques.

Soltanieh is located some 240 km from Tehran. There is archeological evidence that the site had been occupied at least from the first millennium BCE. The construction of the settlement began during Ilkhanid dynasty.

Arghun Khan, the fourth Mongol ruler in Persia, decided to build a summer residence in this region, because it boasted good hunting grounds and rich pastures for horse breeding. His son, Ghazan Khan, had a mausoleum built over his tomb, known as Noor Hill.

There is little information about start of the new settlement until Oljaytu (later Sultan Muhammad Khodabandeh) came to power in 1304 CE when he decided to expand the city and make it his capital, naming it Soltanieh (Imperial).

Together with Tabriz, Soltanieh became a major trading center on route between Asia and Europe. However, Soltanieh Dome gradually declined and remained in ruins. Only a rural village was built over the remains.

The Mausoleum of Oljaytu ― the principal monument of the city ― stands in the middle of a rural settlement, surrounded by fertile meadows. The building is in octagonal form, rising to a stunning high-profile dome ― covered with turquoise-blue faience tiles. This structure represents the earliest existing example of double dome in Iran. The dome has no buttresses. The second-storey galleries of the mausoleum open outwards.

Structurally, the building is considered a masterpiece. The interior walls were originally decorated with light golden-toned bricks and dark blue faience tiles. Later, it was redecorated with plaster by using fine ornaments.

The immediate surroundings of the mausoleum consist of a stone terrace in citadel form. Originally, the citadel was surrounded by a 30-meter-wide moat. Today, it is an archaeological site.

In historic texts, the area of Soltanieh was called ‘Prairie of the Alezans’ or ‘The Falcon’s Hunting Ground’. The special nature of these meadows is due to the soil, which prevents the entire absorption of rain water. As a result, it was especially fertile pasture, particularly appropriate for horse breeding. This was also one of the reasons for establishment of the city in this location.

In the 13th century CE, Persia was devastated by Mongol invasions. They captured Baghdad in 1258 CE, terminating the Abbasid caliphate there. They also founded Ilkhanid Empire in Persia with the capital in Tabriz, in the northwestern part of present-day Iran. The title ‘Ilkhan’ indicated subordinate or peaceful khan in deference to the Great Khan in China. After Kublai Khan died in 1294 CE, the Ilkhanids converted to Islam and the links with China became weaker. The Ilkhanid dynasty governed Persia until 1335 CE.

There is archeological evidence that Soltanieh site had been occupied at least from the first millennium BCE. The construction of a settlement only started by Ilkhanid dynasty around 1290 CE.

The main phase of construction was completed by 1313 CE.

The Ilkhanids had converted to Shia religion, and they are believed to have wanted to transfer the relics of Imam Ali (PBUH) and his son, Imam Hussein (PBUH), from Baghdad to Soltanieh. This never happened and the shrine became the mausoleum of Oljaytu instead.

After the death of Oljaytu in 1316 CE, the city was driven into oblivion. Later, it fell in the hands of small dynasties.

In 1384 CE, Tamerlane’s army seized the city and sacked it, but spared Oljaytu’s mausoleum. In the following years, the city suffered, though it continued to function as a commercial center comparable to Tabriz. In the 16th and 17th centuries CE, Soltanieh gradually declined and remained in ruins. Only a village was built over the remains. Some restoration was undertaken in Oljaytu’s Mausoleum in 19th century CE. At the same time, the plain served as an instruction camp for army of Qajar kings.

Brickwork
Soltanieh Dome, which was the world’s tallest building of its time, currently ranks third after Italy’s Saint Mary church in Florence and Turkey’s Aya Sofia Mosque in Istanbul, Presstv reported.
With its octagonal base and beautiful tile-work, the 54-meter tall Dome is taller than many of Iran’s major historical sites.
The building comprises three parts: mausoleum, dome chamber and vault.
The dome chamber is decorated with Islamic inscriptions and beautiful muqarnas (a traditional Persian art).

Tile-work
Unique Kufic and Sols inscriptions, and exquisite arabesque decorations adorn the mausoleum located above the vault where the king’s body was laid to rest and two guards protected the gilded royal tombstone at all times.
Although the passage of time has left its mark on the mausoleum, the interior retains its superb mosaics, faience and murals.
Stunning brick patterns and beautiful hexagon tiles once decorated the dome’s interior, which was later covered up with plaster, colorful inscriptions and floral patterns.

Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization is currently in charge of the 200-ton dome’s restoration in which experts are using azure tiles made in traditional kilns to refurbish the exterior.
The dome’s double-shell structure, built of two parallel and completely separate brick layers connected with buttresses, gives it a unique quality turning it into one of the world’s unique architectural examples, inspiring many other Muslim cupola constructions such as the Taj Mahal in Agra, India.
The celebrated Italian architect Filippo Brunelleschi is said to have been inspired by the Soltanieh Dome when designing the dome of the Santa Maria Del Fiore cathedral in Florence.
Soltanieh Dome was registered on UNESCO’s World Heritage list in 2006 after the Naqsh-e Jahan Square, Persepolis, the Chogha Zanbil Ziggurat, Takht-e Soleiman, Passargad and the Bam Citadel.

Islamic tourist cruise to connect Iran, Oman and India

MUSCAT: An Islamic tourist cruise connecting Iran, Muscat, Salalah and Mumbai is expected to be launched in 2016, said a representative of an Iranian shipping company.

An initiative is being studied with the support of Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organisation to launch an Islamic leisurely cruise, Abdolhossein Khedri, chairman of Khedri Jahan Darya Company, told Times of Oman in an exclusive interview.

Khedri Jahan Darya Company, which is affiliated with Marine Silk Road Holding, has been providing the first-ever regular direct shipping services for cargo transport between Iran and Oman following an agreement signed between the company and Iranian and Omani authorities.

Cruise journey

Each planned cruise journey is expected to take around seven to 10 days catering to both Iranian and Omani tourists, Khedri said during Iran’s second solo exhibition, which was held in Muscat from January 26 to 30.

Asked if the company plans to launch any passenger transport services between Iran and Oman, the official said that it has been invited to do so but the issue is that Omani vessels are very expensive and their fuel consumption is high.

So it would not be economical to use them for the transport of passengers between the two countries, he noted, adding that the company had decided to participate in the exhibition to use it as a platform to promote Iran’s tourism, with the permission it has received from the Iranian government.

Omani taste

There is no doubt that Iran has great tourism potential but still many attractions in Iran, especially those which would be interesting for Omanis, are still unknown to them, he added.

According to him, the company had sought to introduce such places in the Muscat exhibition through the distribution of booklets written in Arabic and English among the visitors.

For example, visiting Persepolis is important for European tourists but it may not be that interesting for an Omani visitor, said the chairman of Khedri Jahan Darya Company.

Dizin ski resort

An Omani tourist would find the northern parts of Iran or places such as Dizin ski resort much more fascinating, Khedri explained. The northern parts of Iran near the Caspian Sea, which is the largest enclosed inland body of water on Earth by area, are famous for their dense forests, impressive sea shores and spectacular mountains.

Dizin ski resort is one of the best and most popular ski resorts for sports enthusiasts in Iran, which is located in the Alborz mountain range.

Hot springs

Mohammad Mohammadzadeh, chairman of Rah Abrisham Marine Shipping Agency, which is affiliated with Marine Silk Road Holding, also believes that ski resorts in Iran would be appealing for many Omani tourists.

Other popular places to visit include hot springs in northern or western Iran, he said.

Hot springs in Iran has been drawing many visitors, especially those looking for traditional hydrotherapy.

Medical, religious tourism

Mohammadzadeh said that Iran has a huge tourism potential, not only in the field of leisure tourism but also medical and religious tourism given its many tourist attractions, religious sites and good hospitals and medical professionals.

However, he believes that Iran’s tourism potential has still remained untapped and should be promoted further. The official said that Rah Abrisham Marine Shipping Agency is much more than just an agency as it is seeking to open new markets in the tourism sector.

Rah Abrisham Marine Shipping Agency is currently the representative of liner shipping services between Iran and Oman offering various services.

Mohammadzadeh said that the company is supposed to become an Iranian ‘ambassador’ in Oman with the support of the concerned authorities in Iran with the aim of introducing existing opportunities to both Iranians and Omanis, especially in various branches of tourism.

According to the Iranian embassy in Muscat, the flow of tourists from Iran to Oman increased by around 10 per cent in the previous year and the number of Iranian visas issued to Omanis showed an increase of around 37 per cent.

Oman Air flights

Oman Air has added a second daily flight to Tehran and there are plans to launch flights between Oman and the Iranian cities of Mashhad and Shiraz, the embassy has said.

Oman Air recently announced that it plans to increase the number of flights to Tehran.

Iran is known as the country of four seasons. At any time of the year, people can enjoy one of the four seasons in different parts of the country.

Apart from its majestic natural landscapes ranging from the shores of the Caspian Sea in the north to the coasts of the Gulf in the south, Iran has a number of unique cultural sites registered on the UNESCO’s (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) list of world heritage sites, reflecting the country’s rich and ancient history.

Some of these sites include Persepolis, Takht-e Soleyman, Bisotun, Golestan Palace, Pasargadae, Shahr-e Sukhteh, Chogha Zanbil and Jameh Mosque of Isfahan.

Iran seeks 20 mln tourists, $30 billion revenue annually by 2025
Long seen as a destination strewn with shortcomings, Iran is making a fresh pitch for tourists, with the recent lifting of economic sanctions providing an opportunity to cash in, AFP reports.

The tourism industry has been overlooked by successive governments in Tehran but the deal Iran struck with world powers over its nuclear program last summer could change that.

Tourists, and the healthy revenues they could generate, are among the huge economic changes stemming from the nuclear deal.

Ski resorts, UNESCO-listed world heritage sites and deserts combine with cities steeped in Middle Eastern grandeur and tradition, according to AFP.

A tourism push was launched after President Hassan Rouhani came to power in 2013, ending the hardline era of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during which Iran’s international isolation deepened.

Entry procedures have been simplified, meaning visitors from only 11 countries are not eligible for a visa on arrival. The United States, Britain, Canada and France top the exclusion list but some people will not be put off by the restrictions.

For Rouhani, tourism offers a way to offset falling oil prices that have slashed government income. The goal is 20 million tourists annually by 2025 which would provide $30 billion a year, a fivefold increase in current revenues from foreign visitors.

There have been 4.16 million visitors in the first nine months of the Iranian year, which started in March 2015, up five percent from a year earlier, according to the tourism ministry.

Of the country’s 1,100 hotels, only 130 are four or five star — 400 more would be needed to accommodate 20 million tourists annually

Iranian Handicrafts Exhibition in Paris

Concurrent with the visit of President Rouhani to France, Paris will host Iran’s cultural week and open an Iranian handicraft exhibition, Deputy Head of Cultural Heritage said.

 Deputy Head of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHTO) Bahman Namvar Motlagh told MNA correspondent that coinciding with President Rouhani’s visit to France, Iran’s Cultural Heritage Organization in collaboration with Iranian Embassy in France, will hold various programs during Iran’s cultural week, saying this is the first time a political visit has been entwined with culture. “As a cultural country, we have planned to hold an exhibition in Paris municipality showcasing 150 items of unique and highly valuable Iranian handicrafts,” he said. According to Namvar Motlagh, the exhibition aims to promote and introduce Iranian handicraft to French people, although all items can be ordered for purchase. He went on to add that a number of paintings of Iran’s historical sites and monuments will be also put on display. Iran’s cultural week will be officially inaugurated in Paris on Thursday, 28 January. In addition to handicrafts exhibition, there will be a number of programs on Iranian cinema and music.

Iran is home to one of the richest art heritages and handicrafts in world history and distinguished in many disciplines,

Rytone- The Art of Achaemenids

including architecture, painting, weaving, pottery, calligraphy, metalworking and stone masonry. Persians were among the first to use mathematics, geometry, and astronomy in architecture and also have extraordinary skills in making massive domes which can be seen frequently in the structure of bazaars and mosques. Iran, besides being home to a large number of art houses and galleries, also holds one of the largest and valuable jewel collections in the world.

The art of carpet weaving in Iran dates backs to 2,500 years and is rooted in the culture and customs of its people and their instinctive feelings. Weavers mix elegant patterns with a myriad of colors. The Iranian carpet is similar to the Persian garden: full of florae, birds and beasts. The colors are usually extracted from wild flowers, and are rich in colors such as burgundy, navy blue and accents of ivory. The proto-fabric is often washed in tea to soften the texture, giving it a unique quality. Depending on where the rug is made, patterns and designs vary. Some rugs such as Gabbeh, and Kilim have variations in their textures and number of knots as well. Out of about 2 million Iranians involved in the trade, 1.2 million are weavers who produce the largest amount of hand-woven carpets in the world.

Oriental historian Basil Gray believes “Iran has offered a particularly unique art to the world which is excellent in its kind”. Caves in Iran’s Lorestan province exhibit painted imagery of animals and hunting scenes. Those in Fars province and Sialk are at least 5,000 years old. Painting in Iran is thought to have reached a peak during the Tamerlane era when outstanding masters such as Kamaleddin Behzad gave birth to a new style of painting. Qajarid paintings, for instance, are a combination of European influences and Safavid miniature schools of painting such as those introduced by Reza Abbasi. Masters such as Kamal-ol-Molk further pushed forward the European influence in Iran. It was during the Qajar era when “Teahouse painting” emerged. Subjects of this style were often religious and nationalist in nature depicting scenes from Shiite history and literary epics like Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh.

A Persian miniature is a richly detailed miniature painting which depicts religious or mythological themes from the region of

the Middle East now known as Iran. The art of miniature painting in Persia flourished from the 13th through the 16th centuries, and continues to this day, with several contemporary artists producing notable Persian miniatures. These delicate, lush paintings are typically visually stunning, with a level of detail which can only be achieved with a very fine hand and an extremely small brush. Persian miniature is a small painting, whether a book illustration or a separate work of art intended to be kept in an album of such works. The techniques are broadly comparable to the Western and Byzantine traditions of miniatures in illuminated manuscripts, which probably had an influence on the origins of the Persian tradition. Although there is an equally well-established Persian tradition of wall painting, the survival rate and state of preservation of miniatures is better, and miniatures are much the best-known form of Persian painting in the West. Several features about Persian miniatures stand out. The first is the size and level of detail; many of these paintings are quite small, but they feature rich, complex scenes which can occupy a viewer for hours. Classically, a Persian miniature also features accents in gold and silver leaf, along with a very vivid array of colors. The perspective in a Persian miniature also tends to be very intriguing, with elements overlaid on each other in ways which sometimes feel awkward to people who are accustomed to the look and feel of Western art.

Prominent archeologist Roman Ghirshman said, “The taste and talent of these people [Iranians] can be seen through the designs of their earthenware.” Of the thousands of archeological sites and historical ruins of Iran, almost every one of them can be found to have been filled, at some point, with earthenware of exceptional quality. Thousands of unique vessels alone were found in Sialk and Jiroft sites. The occupation of the potter (kouzehgar) has a special place in Persian literature.

Persian calligraphy has several styles. The style initiated by Darvish was emulated by his contemporaries–Mirza Hassan

Isfahani, Mirza Kouchek Isfahani and Mohammad Ali Shirazi. After his death, the Shekasteh style fell into stagnation until it was revived in the 1970s. Says writer Will Durant: “Ancient Iranians, with an alphabet of 36 letters, used skins and pen to write instead of earthen tablets.” Such was the creativity spent on the art of writing. The significance of the art of calligraphy in works of pottery, metalwork and historical buildings is such that they are considered deficient without the calligraphic adorning. Illuminations, especially in the Qur’an and works such as Shahnameh, Divan-e Hafez, Golestan and Boustan, are recognized as highly invaluable because of their delicate calligraphy alone. Vast quantities of these are scattered and preserved in museums and private collections worldwide such as the Hermitage Museum of St. Petersburg and Washington’s Freer Gallery of Art among many others.

 Tilework is a unique feature of the blue mosques of Isfahan. In the old days, Kashan (kash + an literally means “land of tiles”) and Tabriz were famous centers of Iranian mosaic and tile industry in the past. Since centuries, Iranian art has developed particular patterns to decorate Iranian crafts. These motifs can be: – Inspired by ancestral nomad tribes (such as geometrical motifs used in kilims or gabbehs). – Islam influenced, with an advanced geometrical research. – Oriental based, also found in India or Pakistan.

Delicate and meticulous marquetry has been produced since the Safavid period. In fact, khatam was so popular in the court that princes learned this technique alongside music and painting. Khatam means incrustation and Khatamkari refers to incrustation work. This craft consists in the production of incrustation patterns (generally star shaped) with thin sticks of wood (ebony, teak, zizyphus, orange, rose), brass (for golden parts) and camel bones (white parts). Ivory, gold or silver can also be used for collection objects. Sticks are assembled in triangular beams, themselves assembled and glued in a strict order to create a cylinder 70 cm in diameter, whose cross-section is the main motif: a six-branch star included in a hexagon. These cylinders are cut into shorter cylinders, and then compressed and dried between two wooden plates, before being sliced for the last time, in 1 mm wide trenches. These sections are ready to be plated and glued on the object to be decorated, before lacquer finishing. The trench can also be softened through heating in order to wrap around objects. Many objects can be decorated in this fashion, such as jewelry/decorative boxes, chessboards, pipes, desks, frames or some musical instruments. Khatam can also be used in Persian miniatures, making it a more attractive work of art. Based on techniques imported from China and improved by Persian know-how, this craft has existed for more than 700 years and is still practiced in Shiraz and Isfahan.

 Enamel working and decorating metals with colorful and baked coats are one of the distinguished artwork in Isfahan.
Although this course is of abundant use industrially for producing metal and hygienic dishes, it has been paid high attention by painters, goldsmiths and metal engravers since a long time. Worldwide, it is categorized as follows: 1- Enamel painting 2- Charkhaneh or chess- like enamel 3- Cavity enamel. Enamel painting is practiced in Isfahan and specimens are kept in the museums of Iran and abroad, indicting that Iranian artists have been interested in this art and used it in their metalwork ever since the rule of Achaemenian and Sassanid dynasties. Since enamels are delicate, we do not have many of them left from ancient times. Some documents indicate that throughout the Islamic civilization of and during the Seljuk, Safavid and Zand dynasties, there have been outstanding enameled dishes and materials. Most of the enameled dishes related to the past belong to the Qajar dynasty during 1810–90. Bangles, boxes, water-pipe heads, vases and golden dishes with beautiful paintings in blue and green colors remain from that time. This art stagnated for 50 years due to World War I and the social revolution. However, this art was fostered in terms of quantity and quality by Master Shokrollah Saniezadeh, the outstanding painter of Isfahan, for 40 years. Since 1992, this art has begun to thrive after many distinguished artists began working in this field.

Ghalamkar (Qalamkaar, also qalamkar, kalamkar) fabric is a type of Textile printing, patterned Iranian Fabric. The fabric is printed using patterned wooden stamps. It is also known as Kalamkari in India which basicaly is a type of hand-painted or block-printed cotton textile.

Termeh is a handwoven cloth of Iran, primarily produced in the Yazd province. Weaving Termeh requires a good wool with tall fibers. Termeh is woven by an expert with the assistance of a worker called “Goushvareh-kesh”. Weaving Termeh is a sensitive, careful, and time-consuming process; a good weaver can produce only 25 to 30 centimeters in a day. The background colors which are used in Termeh are jujube red, light red, green, orange and black. Termeh has been admired throughout history: Greek historians commented on the beauty of Persian weavings in the Achaemenian (532 B.C.), Ashkani (222 B.C.) and Sasanidae (226-641 A.D.) periods and the famous Chinese tourist Hoang Tesang admired Termeh. After Islam’s arrival in Iran, the Persian weaving arts were greatly developed, especially during the Safavie period (1502-1736 A.D.), during which time Zarbaf and Termeh weaving techniques were both significantly refined. Due to the difficulty of producing Termeh and the advent of mechanized weaving, few factories remain in Iran that produce traditionally woven Termeh. Rezaei Termeh is the most famous of the remaining factories.

Termeh

Kilims are flat tapestry-woven carpets or rugs produced from the Balkans to Pakistan. Kilims can be purely decorative or can function as prayer rugs. Recently made kilims are popular floor-coverings in Western households. Kilims are produced by tightly interweaving the warp and weft strands of the weave to produce a flat surface with no pile. Kilim weaves are tapestry weaves, technically weft-faced plain weaves, that is, the horizontal weft strands are pulled tightly downward so that they hide the vertical warp strands. When the end of a color boundary is reached, the weft yarn is wound back from the boundary point. Thus, if the boundary of a field is a straight vertical line, a vertical slit forms between the two different color areas where they meet. For this reason, most kilims can be classed as “slit woven” textiles. The slits are beloved by collectors, as they produce very sharp-etched designs, emphasizing the geometry of the weave. Weaving strategies for avoiding slit formation, such as interlocking, produce a more blurred design image. The weft strands, which carry the visible design and color, are almost always wool, whereas the hidden warp strands can be either wool or cotton. The warp strands are only visible at the ends, where they emerge as the fringe. This fringe is usually tied in bunches, to ensure against loosening or unraveling of the weave.