LEATHERWORK IN KARACASU AND ITS PRESENT STATUS

Meruyert KOIZHAIGANOVA¹ , Ayşegül KOYUNCU² , Saadet Nihal COŞKUN³

One area where the production of leather takes place in Anatolia is Karacasu District of Aydin Province. Karacasu tanneries which manufacture leather to the shoe companies not only in Turkey but also in abroad had provided important contributions to the country's economy in the past. In this study, it is intended to contribute to the maintenance of the Karacasu leatherwork and tanning which has a long history and nowadays is trying to survive as an important cultural value, and to the promotion of various leather handicraft products produced from vachetta and sahtiyan leathers, to pass them to future generations, to make them source for various disciplines on national and international level. Also the today's problems and the present situation of the leather tanneries located in Karacasu are discussed. In order to achieve the objectives in the light of our understanding, the implements required as field study, observation and interview techniques are used. To achieve the required data, the meetings with employees have been done by going to Karacasu Leather Tanneries. Leather manufacturing stages, its conversion to products were examined and documented with photographs.

Keywords
Leatherwork, Leather, Vachetta, Sahtiyan, Karacasu,