At the edge of Willamette University campus the Hallie Ford Museum has a show of Turkish flat weaves. The exhibition includes examples of 19th and 20th century rugs, saddle bags, storage bags, dowry pieces made by the nomadic herders of Turkey. For centuries the nomadic herders lived in black goat-hair tents and traveled with their sheep and goats from winter to summer pastures. The bold geometric symbols reflect the hops, fears, dreams and aspirations of the nomadic people, ranging from a happy marriage, having many children and getting protection from the evil eye. 
Going through the exhibit you can feel the sense of time and the quiet of the weavers as they expressed their hopes into patterns and colors. The culture of the nomads seemed to express in things, in cloth and weaving. Symbols, motifs, color and color combination for a non-verbal communication. Talismans: giving families protection from evil, ensuring good luck and security. They might define land, or be used in courtship, in birth and various rites of passage including death.
There is movement in the patterns and the colors and beauty in simple things. The nomads carried their homes with them. They learned to cherish a few well made things that spoke to them of their life. I wonder what I carry with me to protect me and my family from the evil eye.
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