The magical south Bulgarian mountain range Rhodope is full of legends about old Thracians who had their sanctuaries on the top of the mountains and made magical rites there, but also more recent stories about destinies of Bulgarians during the Osman domination.
Traditional Rhodopian houses scattered in picturesque mountain villages embellish Rhodope since a long time ago together with Rhodope blankets and also hand woven woollen textile with a magical name halishte.
We present you with a hand woven textile, produced solely from sheep wool in its natural colours, pure of any dyes or chemicals. This extraorinarilly warm and soft carpet can also be used as wall decor, or as a bed or sofa cover. Used as a carpet, the Halishte is perfect for lounging on the floor. Its softness and warmth makes the floor another inhabitable part of the room.
In the country of its origin, the Halishte has traditionally been considered the finest product of sheep wool and one of the most precious possessions in the home. In older times, it was seen as an indicator of the owners’ wealth and was often given as a brides’ dowry. Still today, the Halishte continues to evoke a sense of luxury and wealth.
Its woven basis is interwoven with so-called living wool. This high-quality Rhodopian wool is minimally processed after sheering. Thanks to the fact that there is no further cutting, the long locks of wool keep their structure and original softness. Each lock of wool is then bound by hand into the woven basis, then combed and washed. The fibers of the final product can be up to 10 inches long (25 cm).
It is a cover that may be used in different ways- it can decorate the bed thanks to its unusual aesthetic, it will make cosier a living room, it invites you to idle and read a book or it makes a nice place to drink a coffee by a coffee table.
It is a perfect warmth isolation. It may replace a bed with a mattress and a duvet. Some people hang it on the wall as a decoration. It is beautiful to combine it with natural materials especially wood but it is also nice in a modern interior.
We can manufacture you a halishte in the size you wish. If you order a special size halishte please note that it is a hand-made product. It requires more time than mechanical production, solely the weaving takes several days (without other preceding and following production process).
Available in different shades of natural wool; ranging from white, golden or amber, to dark chestnut brown.
Care
Dry clean or hand wash. Hand wash at room termerature water (up to 25°C), using hand-washable wool detergent. We also recommend airing and shaking out Halishtes to maintain freshness.
