The Oltu Stone

Erzurum is a city in turkey which is located in the east and has around 760.000 inhabitants. It' s famous for historical monuments , a ski center at the mountain Palandöken and a special stone called oltu.

The stone is a black or sometimes dark brown resource which can only be found in the province Oltu. It has developed from different resins in the soil. The excavation is very difficult because of the steepy and rocky area where the oltu stone is located in the subsurface. So people have to work it out by hand.

 

It' s commonly used as jewelry like necklaces, prayer beads, studs.

 

The specifications:

• Originally very soft but gets harder when encountering with air
• Easy to work on
• Gets glossier when used
• Gets electrified when rubbed

Mr. Muhittin Beyit has his own store called "Gözde Oltutas" in the center of Erzurum where he offers jewelry made of oltu stone. Especially the famous prayer beads which are unique artworks are favored by people. From one kilogramm oltu stone can only be made seven prayer beads. It is a hard working process.

 

At first rough pieces are cut out of the digged out stone. Then a master has to trim the pieces to pins by hand before they have to be edited with the lathe. After finishing the extensiv detail work the master polishes the rounded oltu balls with the powder of the charcoal of a residant tree called Cirki and the powder of chalk brought from the mountain Palandöken. At last the balls get fixed together and the prestigious oltu stone prayer bead is ready.

 

Here are some pictures of the store:

The store from outside.

Mr. Beyit is well known in the area for offering high-quality oltu stone prayer beads.

Famous prayer beads in the shop window.

Mr. Beyit is a kind person who servs tasteful turkish black tea to his guests  after entering his store.

There are different sorts and designs.

This is a prayer bead made of oltu stone with fine silver decorative work.

A detailed view.

He explains different qualities and prices of the beads and tells about the characteristics of high-quality products.

After packaging they are ready to take away.

The store is located in the center of Erzurum in the Tashan which is a historical buiding in which some  stores offer jewelry with oltu stone.

 

Information about the store:

 

Store name: Gözde Oltutas

Telephone: 0442 213 96 29

Mobile: 0090 532 201 81 58

Address: Rüstempasa Carsisi Kat. 2 No. 66 - Erzurum 

 

If you have any questions feel free to contact me.

 

Thank you for reading.

 

 

 

Used sources:

http://www.erzurum.gov.tr/oltu.asp

http://www.turkeyforyou.com/turkey_erzurum_oltu_stone