Setting
Sanandaj sits in a mountain basin in the Zagros at about 1,500 m, with a nineteenth-century governor's complex and a covered bazaar in the old centre.
Why this place matters for craft
The trade name Senneh, derived from the older name of the city, is attached to finely knotted, thin single-weft rugs and to a distinctive kilim. As with all trade names, it describes a structure and design idiom rather than a guaranteed place of manufacture.
Quarters, bazaars and workshops
| Area | What is there |
|---|---|
| Sanandaj bazaar | Rug and textile lanes, with regional klash footwear also sold. |
| Asef Vaziri mansion area | Museum quarter useful for seeing regional textiles in context. |
What to look for on an object
- Senneh-type rug — Very thin, stiff handle from single wefting; the back feels almost grainy.
- Klash / giveh — Hand-stitched textile upper, usually white, on a hard sole.
These notes are for learning to look, not for authentication. No description here certifies an object, its age or its origin.
Practical notes
- Regional villages are the source for much of what is sold in the city bazaar.
- Kurdish weaving is often marketed by broad group name; ask for village detail.
- Workshop addresses, bazaar hours and market days change; confirm locally before travelling.
Season: Late spring to autumn.
Used in these crafts
A hand-knotted pile textile woven across Iran in city workshops, village looms and pastoral camps, distinguished by regional structure, palette and design vocabulary.
A flat, pileless woven textile made across Iran by interlocking or slit-weaving coloured weft threads over a warp, used as floor covering, storage bag, saddle cover and tent divider depending on region.
A narrow-strip flatwoven textile, usually made in warp-faced bands on a portable loom and then sewn together into a wider cloth, traditionally used as bedding cover, floor spread or door hanging by village and pastoral households.
A traditional handmade summer shoe with a cotton-thread woven or crocheted upper and a sole historically made of pressed cotton fabric or leather, produced in a number of Iranian towns known for the craft.
A non-woven wool textile made by matting and pressing raw wool fibres with moisture, heat and friction rather than by weaving, traditionally produced across Iran for floor coverings, cloaks and protective mats.