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Edirnekâri:The Art Named AfterThe City it Was Bornby Mehmet KOKREKBeing a traditional art crafted firstly by masters from Edirne,edirnekari took its name from this fact, and for 6 centuries, ithas decorated the interior parts of architectural masterpieces,wooden objects and book covers. Towards this end, we wishedto have a look at the historical adventure of this art which wasgifted to the Turkish Islamic art by craftsmen from Edirnein the second half of the 15th century, and which over thetime spread in the Islamic territories on earth.It is known that Edirne, a boarder city which had for a longtime been the capital of the Ottoman Empire, has been animportant center of arts and crafts both during the periodwhen it was the capital, and afterwards. Bearing in mind thatthe city was used as a military center during the Roman and theByzantian Empire, one can easily imply that the people of Edirnewas not familiar with terms such as arts and culture. Presentingto Edirne the heritage of the Turkish Islamic arts and cultureenriched and developed for centuries as of 1361, though,the Ottoman Empire did beautify the city and satisfy the needof the people for arts and culture. The Ottoman Empire, as beyondthe doubt, the greatest banner bearer of the Turkish Islamicarts, did more than their best to make Edirne, which they opted foras the capital, a center of attraction in every single aspect. Thesegreat efforts were not left unresponded, and Edirne hadits own sui generis schools of art in less than a centuryafter its conquest. The Edirnekâri techniqueor style which we will try to reflect on in this articleshould be considered as one of the consequencesof these great efforts.Named After The City It Originated InWith the most general definition, edirnekâri can be definedas a style applied on materials such as card board, wood or leather.It was named after the city the craftsmen of which first masteredthe art, and is mostly crafted on decorative objects such as dowerychests, money boxes, writing drawers and book covers. The samedecorative perspective expressed as bouquets with or without vases isalso reflected on gravestones. Such bouquets can be seen on gravestonesthat belong to the 16th and 17th centuries. Usually, rose, baby’s breath, hyacinth,opium poppy and zerrin motives were used in these bouquets.