"TURKEY" Line

The motifs of this set are two famous symbols of Islamic architecture in Turkey – The Blue Mosque and The Selimiye Mosque (Selimiye Camii).

The Blue Mosque was built in Istanbul in the XVII century by the order of Sultan Ahmet I. It was called "blue" because blue-and-white tiles of the utmost exquisiteness were used in the interior design decoration. The Mosque designed by the disciple of the great Sinan was to surpass in magnificence the great Ayasofya (Sancta Sophia) located just across from it. The Blue Mosque has six slender minarets that seem to hover in the sky. 

The Selimiye Mosque (Selimiye Camii) is one more gem of the Ottoman Architecture and one of the best creations of architect Mimar Sinan commissioned by Sultan Selim II in 1574 in the city of Edirne. This is the largest mosque in Turkey. Owing to the advanced construction technology, the architect managed to build a huge dome (31.25m diameter) resting on eight columns over the prayer hall. The mosque is lavishly decorated with tiles part of which was even taken to Russia during the Russo-Turkish War. Today The Selimiye Mosque is one of the country's main tourist attractions.

The tea set looks especially festive because of its specific Turkish color palette based on the combination of red and black. The glittering gold only enhances this impression. Each item of the set is decorated with a wide ornamental fringe of a stylized floral pattern with five-petal palmettes against the black background. This makes a wonderful combination with the tracery of repeated red rosettes below on the white background of the cups, tea-pot, sugar-bowl, and the milk jug.

This collection is produced in a limited number of copies (500 sets).