KAŞ & YEŞİLBARAK – Where it all began

If someone asks me how Wild Heart Free Soul came into being, the answer usually starts with a Barak kilim.

I spent the summer of 2013 in Kaş on the Turkish Mediterranean coast. It was one of those summers that leave a deep impression on your heart. The sea, the mountains, the lightness of life, and the feeling of being exactly where I was meant to be.

That's where I first encountered a Barak kilim.

At the time, I knew nothing about kilims, weaving techniques, or symbolism. But I knew immediately that these pieces were different. The colors seemed vibrant and cheerful. The patterns were free, bold, and full of personality. The large Elibelinde figures and the protective eye symbols particularly fascinated me.

Many Barak kilims come from the villages around Yeşilbarak in the mountains above Kaş. The name means "Green Barak." The people of this region have Turkmen roots and traditionally lived as nomads. To this day, many families maintain a semi-nomadic lifestyle: They spend the winters on the Mediterranean coast and the summers on the cool yaylas of the Taurus Mountains.

It was in this landscape that the Barak kilims were created.

Woven from hand-spun sheep's wool, for their own homes, for the family, and as part of a dowry. Not for the market, but for life.

Perhaps that's why these kilims still move me so deeply.

They carry the freedom of nomadic life within them. The colors of Anatolia. The strength of the women who wove them.

Many of the pieces shown here are in exceptionally good condition or have been carefully restored so that they can continue to live for many more decades.

For me, Barak kilims are far more than just beautiful carpets.

They remind me of the beginning of a journey that eventually became Wild Heart Free Soul.