Borchalo Carpets in Georgia: Kept Alive by Only 12 Weavers 

The Borchalo rug, renowned for its intricate designs and vibrant colors, reflects the rich cultural heritage of the Azerbaijani community in Georgia. This almost extinct tradition, celebrated globally for its artistry and cultural significance, is slowly making a comeback. Thus, I dive deep into the history and importance of Borchalo carpets in Georgia to inspire you and reach a wider audience.

Initiatives like reWoven, which aim to restore this cultural practice, and occasional tours offered by my friends and partners at WT Georgia play an essential role in preserving the tradition in the small villages of Azeri minorities.

Visiting these villages offers a unique opportunity to learn more about the community that even Georgians know little about. I’m guilty as charged; I was unaware of the incredible history and culture Marneuli Municipality has carried for centuries. 

Although I left in awe, I still needed to understand the significance of Borchalo carpets in Georgia. The names and terms used during the tour were absolutely foreign to me. Everything came into focus when I started researching for this post and ended up down the rabbit hole of carpet production in Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia.

My visit to one of the two villages that still hand-weave Borchalo carpets in Georgia was part of the tour, but in the spirit of transparency, I emphasize that the following review reflects my genuine and unbiased opinions and recommendations. Rest assured, every word shared accurately represents my personal experience.

Thanks to WT Georgia and reWoven, I learned more about the carpets and their symbolism, which I’d generally taken for granted. 

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you buy something through them—at no extra cost to you. It helps support my blog and lets me share real, first-hand travel tips. Learn more

The significance of carpets in Georgia

Carpets and rugs have been part of humankind since ancient times, when we made them from raw animal skins to serve as heaters for the dwelling. Georgia is no exception when it comes to crafting carpets for various purposes.

Historically, a house in Georgia without a rug or carpet was a rarity. These woven masterpieces weren’t just interior decor; they were symbols of status and hierarchy, and a particularly beautiful, unique rug marked nobility and luxury.

Since ancient times, Georgian families have been handing down needlework as a traditional custom – the knowledge of knitting, weaving, and embroidery was considered necessary for every woman in the family. As a result, interior decorations, including carpets and rugs, were popular alongside woven and embroidered clothing.

During my research, I encountered the view that Georgian carpets lack a characteristic, unique design and that Persian rugs heavily influence them.

On the contrary, rug weaving has long been famous in Georgia’s mountainous regions, particularly Tusheti and Khevsureti. Thanks to their thick texture, rugs warmed the houses and served as an ideal interior design element in the cold mountain air.

Since Georgia was part of many trade routes, it was also the hub of the carpet trade. Carpets woven here and in the east reached Europe through Tbilisi, which once had a very famous carpet market.

After the country’s industrialization, factories wove carpets, and as design trends changed and evolved, carpets slowly lost their relevance and popularity. However, a handful of weavers in Georgia still keep the tradition alive.

Wool-making process for carpets

Carpet production is directly related to the development of sheep farming. High-quality carpet requires a good selection of wool, which was shorn in spring because sheep’s fur was fluffier at this time. Women used lamb’s wool to weave the most valuable, finest carpet.

Besides the quality of the raw material, properly washing the wool was also essential. After drying, the wool was carded, and the longer it was carded, the more expensive the carpet made from it was. Then it was hand-spun, dyed with natural dyes, and woven on a special wooden loom.  

Usage of carpets in Georgia

Carpets served many functions beyond furnishing and retaining heat in the household. In the Middle Ages, carpets adorned the king’s inauguration and consecration and even had a special place in the court, kept in a treasury.

Carpet weaving also became a family tradition. The bride or the bride’s mother would weave rugs or carpets for dowry. They also wove them for their own use and for sale. During hardships, families would also pay for goods with them. Since they were considered non-essential items, they became luxury objects.

Even in my childhood, I remember many of my relatives’ and acquaintances’ homes using rugs and carpets as their interior decoration. Not particularly beautiful and rich in colors, most likely mass-produced ones woven in dull black and brown palettes, I was never fond of them until I grew up and discovered a whole new world of carpets.  

However, as a kid, I loved the summer ritual of carpet washing in Tbilisi courtyards. It wasn’t only a fun activity for kids to splash in; it was also lovely to see them hanging up to dry in the sun—something I really miss seeing in the streets of modern-day Tbilisi. 

Borchalo carpets in Georgia

Borchaly, in Azerbaijani Borçalı, is a sub-category within the Gazakh group of Azerbaijani carpets.

This carpet is associated with the Bozchalu tribe, which lived in Naqadeh in Iranian Azerbaijan. But, according to the instructions of the Safavid rulers, the tribe was displaced approximately 75 km north of Gazakh, Azerbaijan, and settled in Georgia’s current territory of Marneuli, formerly Borchalo. Even today, the ethnic Azerbaijanis mainly inhabit the Marneuli municipality.

Large villages in this region, including Gurdlar, Akhurly, Kachagan, Sadakhly (Sashikhly), Dashtepe, and Lembeli, were once famous for carpet weaving. They were closely connected to the carpet-weaving centers of Popagly, located three kilometers from Gazakh, and the carpet-weaving zones of Garayazy and Garachep in northern Gazakh.

Nearly every Azerbaijani woman has woven stunning rugs in Georgia for centuries and passed down the tradition from generation to generation. Mothers spent hours weaving with their daughters beside them, passing on the skills they learned from their own mothers.

As in other parts of Georgia, Azeri communities wove carpets to warm their homes, as gifts, and as part of dowries, reflecting the community’s daily life and culture at the time.

These antique rugs, known as Bordjalou (Borçalı), Lambalo (Ləmbəli), Karachopt (Qaraçöp), and Fachralo (Faxralı), are often spotlighted at the world’s exclusive auction houses and sold for several thousand USD. They are also proudly exhibited in museums and personal collections around the globe.

The current state of Borchalo carpets

Unfortunately, in recent decades, the art of carpet weaving has almost entirely died out. Modernization has pushed the ancient craft of rug weaving to the brink of extinction. The arrival of inexpensive, machine-made carpets offered women an easy way to cover their floors and walls, weakening the traditional rug-weaving practice.

As the craft lost value, women’s interest waned, and they began focusing on other activities. With fewer weavers, rug quality deteriorated. Intricate, vibrant designs gave way to simpler, repetitive patterns, and stark synthetic colors replaced the harmonious natural dyes. Convenience overshadowed beauty, and the rich, creative designs of the past faded away.

The current state of weaving in this region is threatened. Of over 129 Azerbaijani villages in Georgia and approximately 500,000 inhabitants, only two villages and fewer than 15 women craft Borchalo carpets. Kosalari and Iormughanlo (also known as Karachop) are the only places in Georgia where you can find gorgeous Borchalo carpets.

The knowledge of dyeing wool with natural methods has also been lost. With the average age of weavers at 50 and above, weaving in this once-vibrant rug-producing area may cease if the current generation fails to pass on this tradition.

Thankfully, a non-profit organization, reWoven, founded in 2007 by Ryan Smith, keeps the tradition alive. Read the fascinating story of how Ryan started it all.

Works of reWoven to revive Borchalo carpets in Georgia

The dedicated team at reWoven strives to continue Ryan’s legacy of supporting the Azerbaijani community in Kosalari and Iarmughalo by employing weavers to craft exquisite rugs, restore tradition, and inspire a younger generation to continue the practice.

reWoven’s carpets and rugs reflect centuries-old aesthetics and methods, including naturally dyed, hand-spun wool yarns, historical designs, and hand weaving. Weavers still hand-spin their own undyed white and black wool into yarn, while the organization imports naturally dyed colored yarn from neighboring countries, including Azerbaijan.

As a non-profit, all earnings from the project remain in the village, maximizing benefits for the weavers. By doing so, the project hopes more women will be interested in getting involved, as they’ll see more financial and economic benefits for the community.  

In addition to their high-quality materials and cultural authenticity, reWoven rugs are valued for their personal connection between the customer, the weaver, and their community. Each rug includes a certificate confirming its quality and origin, personal information about the weaver, and images of the weaving process. A square meter of Borchalo carpet at reWoven costs 400 USD. 

Rugs and carpets are sold online and then shipped to customers worldwide. As Kosima, reWoven’s Creative Director, told me, demand has outgrown her capacity with only a handful of weavers.

They currently work with 12 women, but only five can weave anytime. Depending on the size, design, and the weaver’s availability, it takes anywhere between one and four months to complete the rug.

That said, reWoven gives its weavers flexibility by letting them decide how fast or slow they want to weave, and, as Kosima explains, customers are thankfully very understanding.

In the future, Kosima also hopes to revive natural, local dyeing techniques for its yarns instead of importing them from Baku.

A few years ago, they also sent their rugs to Azerbaijan for washing, drying, and finishing touches. However, because the land border has been closed for the last three and a half years, they had to be resourceful and find ways to finish their products locally.

Today, they wash the rugs themselves, burn the backs to ensure no fluff remains, and shave them to create beautiful piles from top to bottom in Kosalari.

What makes Borchalo carpets unique

Generally, Borchalo carpets in Georgia differ from those in the Caucasus and the East, particularly Persian Borchalo, in weaving technique and design.

Kosalari and Karachop (Iermughalo) rugs are woven on old wooden, upright looms. Some of them are over 100 years old and were provided by the Imperial Russian government to encourage craftsmanship in the region. 

Depending on the creative structure, Borchalo carpets have several designs and types. Carpets and rugs from Karachop and Borchalo are known for their long pile and looser weave, resulting in a woolly silkiness.

Although most of Marneuli Municipality‘s population is Muslim, Borchalo carpets rarely feature religious symbols unless they are made for a mosque.

Their bold, ornamental, geometric, almost tribal rug design generally reflects mythological symbols, beliefs, and totems. These motifs once held mystical and religious meaning and have been passed down through the centuries. However, they have lost their religious symbolism and become decorative details.

Their rich colors, particularly the bright red used in Georgia, also set Borchalo carpets apart and indicate their origin. The red dye comes from the madder root, which we also use to dye our eggs for Easter.

Mignonette flowers provide yellow dye, indigo provides blue, and green is a combination of blue and yellow. Unlike the chemical ones, which have a maximum life span of 50 years, natural dyes last longer- centuries- and the colors don’t fade away.

The technique used for Borchalo carpets is also different. The thick wool used enables the weaver to have fewer knots in one square inch. Because of the fewer knots, the patterns must be bolder and more graphic. Moreover, these rugs and carpets are chunky, soft, and lightweight.  

Design elements and the villages where they are woven also distinguish handwoven Borchalo carpets. However, similar ornaments are present in all, including gols (in Farsi, it means flower and is often used to describe a floral medallion or rosette), trees, birds, camels, dogs, etc.

The most common Borchalo design is the Tree of Life, often gifted as a wedding present or woven as part of the dowry. In local mythology, the carpet symbolizes a family’s wealth, whereas the tree is usually intended to be Cottonwood, a symbol of strength.

The tree branches signify fertility and represent future generations. A camel also symbolizes wealth, and a stylized eye protects the family from the evil eye.

The artistic expression of the weaver determines whether other symbols are included. For instance, birds symbolize good news, a dog is a family friend, and a star represents light and purity.

These motifs reflect the weavers’ life experiences, traditions, and even historical events. Their complex masterpieces interweave the essence of their culture, lifestyle, and past affairs, creating carpets rich not only in colors and patterns but also in storytelling.

Besides the Tree of Life, reWoven also creates other designs, such as Lori Pambak, characterized by an octagonal medallion and a rich red, ivory, and uncommon green palette.

Chalaberd Kazak rugs, also called Caucasian Eagle Kazak rugs, feature sunburst medallions, dragons, and temple arches. Pinwheel Kazak is another design named after a form that resembles a rotating pinwheel with curling hooks.

They also offer a few other designs (Karachop, Memling Gul, Lezghi Star, Sevan Kazak, Star Kazak, Lambalo, Moghan, etc.) and can custom-make them for you.  

How to visit Kosalari and weavers

Kosalari is about an hour’s drive from Tbilisi. The easiest way to visit the weavers, get hands-on experience, and learn more from those directly involved in the project is to join a reWoven tour and check whether WT Georgia also offers one.

This half-day tour is one of the most unusual day trips from Tbilisi and includes a visit to the beautiful Kosalari mosque, where Kosima will briefly make you pay attention to the carpets made with artificial coloring before driving to one of the houses in the village.

You’ll see carpets already laid out on the courtyard pavement or hanging from the balcony railing. This is where Kosima and her colleague Zaur explain everything about Borchalo carpets, the tradition, techniques, and symbolism. They are very friendly and eager to answer any questions you may have.

After the introduction, you’ll walk to a neighboring house to see the process and try it yourself. On our tour, we went to Elmira Ceferova’s house to see the process she’s been working on for two weeks.

There, Kosima explained the loom’s structure and technique while Elmira’s hands moved very quickly to demonstrate the actual method. Then, we were given some time to partake and weave a few knots. It looked much harder than it actually is once you get the hang of it.

Once everyone was done weaving, we returned to the first house and were treated to a delicious Azeri meal. Khingal is a handmade thin noodle dish where pasta is cut into rectangular shapes. Once boiled, it is topped with melted butter and caramelized onions. The non-vegetarian version includes ground beef.

The hosts also served us Dovgha – a yogurt with herbs, eggs, and chickpeas. It’s typically warm in winter (the type we’ve tried), while in summer, it is cold.  

Lunch included Azeri tea in tulip-shaped cups, fruit, candies, and a homemade cake.