Overseas market for Turkish dolls

ADIYAMAN - Anatolia News Agency

People associate each doll to a renowned name, because each doll is different and represents a different personality. Durmaz also created dolls with the name “Abuzer,” one of the most popular names in Adıyaman.

Zahide Durmaz, from the eastern province of Adıyaman, has been selling dolls to European countries and the U.S., named “Besi Bebek,” designed by adapting her late grandmother’s traditional dresses into dolls clothes. From her vision of traditional life and fashion, Durmaz has created a micro-industry.

“People show great interest in these dolls. They are very excited to see them and make comments on them, because the dolls make them recall their memories of the past,” Durmaz told Anatolia news agency. “The dresses on the dolls are made of silk and each doll has a different unique feature. The social setting of type of doll can be understood by looking at their traditional dresses.”

People associate each doll to a renowned name, because each doll is different from the others and represent different personalities. Durmaz said they also created dolls with the name “Abuzer,” one of the most popular names in Adıyaman. Since Abuzer Gaffari’s tomb was in Adıyaman, there was a person with the name Abuzer in almost every house, she said.

“When Turkish and foreign tourists come to the bazaar, they visit me first. Our dolls and other handmade products are being sold almost everywhere in country,” she said, adding that the dolls are completely handmade and the body, hands and feet are made of wood. “We send them everywhere.
We also sell them to European countries and the U.S.,” Durmaz said.

Durmaz said 50 housewives were employed to make the dolls and each woman had a different job, therefore they did not have problem in controlling the quality of products. Everyone can create a business, according to Durmaz. They should work hard and put the effort in, she said.

“Nobody should complain that they don’t have a business. I tell this particularly to women. I started this business with no capital,” she said, adding that she did not get money from her family or anyone else and reached this point with her efforts only.

“People wait for state assistance they don’t put in the effort,” she said. “Maybe some people want to do it, but they can’t because of negative thoughts of people around them.”
Durmaz also called for the state to support traditional handcrafts and products that contribute to the promotion of Turkey.