Get in touch with usIn the late 19th century, a small community of French nationals settled in a village along Türkiye’s southeastern Mediterranean coast. Among their many skills? The art of silk — from cocoon to cloth, they were masters of the craft.
Living alongside them was a young Turkish boy named Ahmet, who watched, learned, and eventually became an expert in silk himself. That boy grew up to be Dede Ahmet, great-grandfather to Meta — one of our current silk weavers at Jennifer’s Hamam.
As tensions rose in the lead-up to World War I, the French community decided to leave Türkiye. But before they did, they gave Dede Ahmet a parting gift: a book made of copper pages, embossed with the entire silk-making process. Knowing its value — and its risk — they warned him to keep it hidden.
Dede Ahmet took no chances. He committed every process to memory… and then threw the copper book into the fire.
That knowledge was passed down through generations — not written, not recorded, but woven into family life. Raising silkworms, reeling silk, dyeing with natural ingredients, and weaving by hand became the rhythm of the family’s existence.
When Meta was just seven years old, he walked into the yard where his uncle was reeling silk and announced: “I want to learn.” In their tradition, that’s how apprenticeship begins — not assigned, but chosen.
The road wasn’t easy. Meta later became head of the family after his father and uncles passed away. Buyers disappeared. Money ran short. There were winters when the only food came from the garden — and even then, Meta once traded their precious potatoes for pomegranates just to dye that season’s silk.
By the time Jennifer met him, Meta was on the verge of giving up silk altogether.
Thankfully, he didn’t.
Today, his is the last family in Türkiye still raising their own silkworms, reeling and spinning silk by hand, dyeing it naturally, and weaving on traditional looms. And for the first time in his family’s history, Meta has begun writing down the knowledge that was once passed only by memory.
He dreams his designs. He works with extraordinary skill. And every piece he weaves carries not just beauty — but legacy.
Jennifer says:
“I knew nothing about silk before meeting Meta. He’s taught me so much — and more than anything, I want to see this tradition taught to young people and carried on.”