Jul 20 2026

Kicking the Ball

Whether you are happy or sad with the 2026 FIFA World Cup winner, let’s give a round of applause to a true hero of the game – the BALL! Do you know that, on average, the ball was kicked 1000 to 1500 times per match? Have you noticed that 2026 FIFA Adidas Trionda football has featured only 4 polyurethane panels instead of traditional 32 leather ones?

Despite of recent innovative technological manipulations (materials, shape, imbedded sensors) to the staple of the game of football to improve the experience and precision, the three goals of the ball remain the same: A ball makes the game happen, unites people and engages strong emotions! The synthetic fibers, machine stitching, thermal bonding of the modern football are only in place since late 1980ies. Before that, for millennia, humanity used animal leather panels that were stitched manually from the inside, to create round instrument for physical engagement and community-building. Among few types of manual leather panels stitching techniques, the one featured on the football of 1908 in Real Madrid Museum ( Go Spain! ) is performed the same way a so-called “Kazan” stitch on shchiteqler, the Tatar traditional footwear. This type of manual stitch also has three goals: It simultaneously holds, flexes and embellishes.  For centuries, if not millennia, this distinct stitch has been used to support the flexibility of leather shapes and to provide aesthetic appeal to the leather edges.

According to our years-long research of worldwide museum collections, auction sites and marketplaces, this distinct stitch has been mastered by Muslim leather crafters: they performed and spread it westward and eastward via various trading routs: all the way from medieval Spain to China. This type of inner stitching (that looks like embroidery, beadwork, cord-like to a layperson’s eye) was historically employed for leather-made footwear, headwear (e.g. falcon hoods), meal-ware (e.g. drinking vessels), animal gear (e.g., saddles), furnishing (e.g., “ottomans”), carriers (e.g., bags) and curvy objects (e.g., balls). Though an original term for this stitch may have differed in various locations, we believe it was widely referred as “sarma”, a word that stems from an ancient Turkic root “sar/sır” meaning “to wrap”.

Nowadays, it is referred this way (sarma) in Morocco, the one of only two locales where the distinct ancient stitch is still being successfully executed, by hands. The second location is Tatarstan Republic of Rossiyan Federation, specifically Kazan-Arshcha area. The original Tatar term for the stitch is lost/unknown and is currently being referred as “Kazan” stitch, which, most likely, was originally referred as “сар(мау)/ sar(mau)”, a Tatar word from the same Turkic root that etymologically corresponds to the essence of the stitch. The essence of this impressively durable, flexible and decorative inner stitch is in several loops of decorative thread wrapped around a carrying waxed thread that adheres one leather piece to another. The technology of performing sarma stitching in Morocco slightly differs from how it is executed in Tatarstan. Check out these variations:

Can you identify the differences in the stitch execution? Isn’t it curious that people in faraway places (Tatarstan is ~ 3000 mi/ 5000 km away from Morocco) are still actively utilising ancient manual the same distinct leather stitching technique, but execution varies? Do you have an idea why? Would you agree that leather work created in Tatarstan is more ornamentally elaborate and intricate? The leather items from Tatarstan are more aesthetically prominent because of creative collaboration of color, complex stacked patterns and the distinct stitching that are all integral elements of unique traditional art of the Tatars, Kaiyly Kün.

Examine the leather items hand-crfafted with Kaiyly Kün technology and without it
May 5 2026

Innovating the Tradition

Have you wondered how innovative ideas are born?  When something new comes up, is it an organic development or a reaction to the ever-changing reality? Do you pause to assess if innovative product is manipulating the core, the baseline, the root, the tradition?  Those could be loaded questions, indeed, but they are the important ones when the goal is to preserve the original. Recent years have opened up the doors to artificial intelligence for almost everyone in the internet-empowered world. Recent months have been very active in innovating the Tatar traditional leather folk art of Kaiyly Kün. 

Change is a constant variable of life. It is a powerful mechanism for innovations as well as destruction…especially in the times of upheaval…Is the natural or the artificial in charge of change control – a crucial procedure that ensures the protection of quality and core value? Whether it is an artificially generated image of boots/ bags with the distinct stitch and ornamentation, or natural manual fabrication of leather item with only one element of the technology instead of three, it is becoming harder to detect the distortion of the original core of a complex Kaiyly Kün art. It is important to pinpoint a change that may erase the value and make it unavailable in future (like once-prominent bulgari leather)….It is also essential, without a doubt, to encourage and celebrate the progressive creatives, because art is fuelled by innovations.

Here are some impressively creative innovative interpretations of centuries-old Kaiyly Kün technology. Here is one more loaded, maybe a rhetoric, question for you to ponder: Which item is complex and authentic enough to carry the core of an ancient art as well as is an excellent example of modern interpretation and innovative approach? 

Kul Eşe’s multi-talented founder Mira Rahmat’s cool efforts in embellishing the public spaces with interpretive art based on traditional folk crafts of the Tatars deserve high accolades.

Kul Eşe School is dedicated to promoting and preserving the knowledge and value of manual/ hand work (it is a literal translation of kul eshe / кул эше from Tatar language) of the Tatars.  

In sync, we, here, have been diligently documenting, preserving and expanding the knowledge of unique art of Kaiyly Kün. For over 15 years, we have been offering this freely accessible platform with quality, human-synthesised and researched knowledge of incredible manual Tatar heritage of complex leather mosaic. Our intrinsic motivation is clear: we want the unique leather art of the Tatars with its original integral three elements to be available for many generations and the whole world to enjoy and celebrate!

Credits go to Naılya Kumysnikova, Lusi Brand, Dina Gatina-Shafikova, Aigel Salakh, Ay.Bulgari, Sahtian, Kul Eşe, Mira Rahmat, Al Bai, Bekas, Adelina Akhmetshina

*We intentionally do not use Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools/models to generate images because our priority is a meaningful use of natural resources including electric power supply. Do you know that based on the type of the AI model, generating one image equals to 

  • either charging one smartphone 70-200 times (0.1-0.3 kWh in light models),
  • or brewing water in the coffee/tea pot 5-15 times (0.3-0.7 kWh in mid-range models),
  • or running a refrigerator for up to 1 hour (0.7-2.0 in advanced models)?

The “saved up” energy (thanks to our intentional, meaningful approach) fuels the well-being of local marginalized communities (instead of private data centres). Those are the people who rely on their hands for living.

Feb 21 2026

What’s on the top of your head?

What’s on the top of your mind?

Would you fancy your look with a tübәtәi, kalfaq or büreq? These and several other bashlyqlar are the types of Tatar headwear that are an integral part of traditional Tatar image, identity, and costume. Covering the head became especially significant for the Tatars from the time their forefathers and foremothers (the Volga Bulgars) accepted Islam in 922 CE: It gained religious and mental importance. In Islam, wearing a headcover symbolizes humility, modesty and respect to the Creator. It signals care about community. It indicates openness and desire to seek knowledge. 

Our own unwavering curiosity in discovering new dimensions and applications of unique leather art of the Tatars has led us to a digital collection of Nordiska Museum of Sweden. The museum owns a hat that, unexpectedly, features 3 integral elements of the unique Kaiyly Kün technology that are typically a feature of traditional Tatar footwear, shchiteqler. 

This one-of-a-kind hat had been created before 1876 with 1) colorful soft leather cutouts, 2) stacked to create stylized Turkic-inspired design, and 3) manually attached with distinctive inward stitching. This unprecedented example of the headwear decorated with  Kaiyly Kün technology is only the second kind that we have ever encountered (Read about our first discovery in National Museum of Finland here).

We took a liberty of improvisation, and imagined how this unique colorful leather hat would accentuate a modern Tatar Muslim woman’s look. Although this type of elongated headwear is not in the Tatar fashion anymore, it does bring forward three historic imagery: 1) iconic depiction of Bulgar-Tatar queen Söyümbike (1513-1553) by unknown author of 17th century, 2) intriguing drawing of Kazan Tatar woman by Jean Baptist Le Prince (1734-1781), and, 3) the Crown of Kazan Khanate (1438-1552, the successor of Ulug Ulus & Volga Bulgaria) that was submitted to Ivan IV of Muscovite Tsardom in 1552: now it rests in Moskva Kremlin Armory of Rossiyan Federation. 

Writing this post during Ramadan, the month when Holy Qur’an was revealed to Prophet Muhammad by Angel Jibrael in Makkah in the year of 610, reminds us of the very first word قرأ / Iqra / Read that opens the Surah Al’ Alaq that is believed to be the first revelation. It starts with the command to “Read in the name of the Lord who created…” (Qur’an 96:1). It channels undeniable truth of power of learning. It calls for acquiring knowledge that illuminates, inspires, awakens the heart. In the modern times of reign of Artificial Intelligence and social media, it is paramount to invest time and efforts in continuous learning, meaningful discoveries, development of critical thinking, and in supporting of learning communities. 

Start here by learning the curiously complex history of the Tatars. 

Start here by supporting and donating to the only globally-accessible Tatar online synchronous school that teaches Tatar language, literature, history.

The Tatar language is one of many stateless languages that face existential threat: It is critical to keep ethnic languages thriving, so the world is open-minded, tolerant and appreciative of a diverse thought.

That’s what’s on the top of our mind!

Wait!…Here is more: The freshest discovery quietly tucked in the small city of Taos, State of New Mexico. This wood-carved girl wrapped in yawlyk with kalfaq on her head is the work of Nikolai Feshin (1881-1955), a famous painter born and raised in Kazan in late 19th-early 20ies centuries, who moved to the USA in 1933. He died in 1955. In 1976 his remains were transported to Kazan by his daughter Eya to be rested in Arskoye cemetery.

Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan Republic, situated on European part of EurAsia, is and has been a unique place of co-existance of Muslim, Christian, pagan, Turkic, Slavic, Finno-Ugric population in Rossiyan Empire, USSR, Rossiyan Federation. This unique conglomerate of diversity of cultural cues influenced Feshin’s art and his interest in depicting the native people of the lands, both of Tatarstan and of then-Mexico-now-USA. This unexpectedly unique carving of Tatar/Turkic girl is created in New Mexico. She offers her magical gaze to the visitors of the Taos Art Gallery housed in the home designed and built by multi-talented Nikolai Feshin himself. Doesn’t she resemble below image created by Sergei Bubennov, Rustem Kil’debekov and Viktor Fedorov in 1967 on Kazan train station building?

Sources and References:

Dec 14 2025

Inaugurating Turkic Languages Day!

The day of December 15th has recently been proclaimed by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) as a World Turkic Language Family Day. In 2025, we are celebrating it for the first time!

On this day in 1893 a linguist and turkologist Vilhelm Thomsen (1842-1927) made a very anticipated announcement that the text of the Orkhon Inscriptions (discovered in 1889 during the expedition of Nikolai Yadrintsev (1842-1894)) was deciphered (translation here). The 1300 years old inscriptions, also referred as Kul Tigin (684-731)  steles and Bilge Qaghan (683-734) inscriptions, found in Orkhon valley of modern Mongolia, are the oldest known written records of the Turkic language.

Out of ~8 billion people worldwide, roughly 200 million are speaking Turkic languages, ~7 millions of whom are the Tatar language speakers/ carriers, active and passive. Although the usage of the Tatar language is diminishing due to the prevalence of various lingua franca in the areas of modern habitats, there is a great interest in learning and preserving the Tatar language these days, simply because it connects to the roots (incredibly rich oral, written, material heritage) and to the other Turkic people.

Turkic languages are characterized by the vowel harmony and agglutinative nature of grammatical relations between the words. According to the lexicostatistical matrix of Turkic languages and the article in Journal of Language Evolution, the Tatar language exhibits more than 50% of basic lexical similarities with most of the Turkic languages including Azerbaijani, Bashkir, Gagauz, Kazakh, Karakalpaq, Karachi, Khakas, KirimTatar, Turkish, Turkmen, Tuvan, Uyghur, Uzbek. To have an idea how closely they sound, just give a listen to Bulat Shaymi’s short song where he sings in 12 Turkic languages!

For several millennia, in the vast territories of central EuroAsia, impressive networks have been connecting, non-stop, the flow of goods, skills, thoughts through the well-established trading routes (Volga Route powered by the Volga Bulgars, ancestors of the modern Tatars, and Silk Road) that had been managed by various influential forces, including nomadic Saka/ Scythian Empire, Turkic Kaganates, Mongol Empire evolved into several Turkicized khanates later become referred as Turkistan (Turan by Persian sources, Transoxania, Central Asia by western sources) -the ethnonym represents a conglomerate of many Turkic-speaking states/“-stan”s-, Rossiyan Empire through 1917. 

Although Tatarstan is not a part of Turkestan geographically, the linguistic, customary and historic baseline of the Tatars (originally, Volga Bulgars) of the Volga-Ural area of modern Rossiyan Federation is linked to all Turkic people. The intelligible wide-spread Turkic languages have eased up the channels to carry on business, policies, thoughts, innovations, and the Tatars were instrumental in promoting successful collaborations and opportunities for the Turkic languages-speaking world and its neighbours creating so-called Tatar Empire, a term coined by Danielle Ross in her book.

Material cultures of the Turkic people have many common features that speak to the unified sources of inspirations and beliefs (a subject for a separate post), the distribution of which showcases the collaborative nature of the networks. The simple fact that shchiteqler – boots uniquely decorated with Kaiyly Kün technology mastered by the Volga Tatars – exhibited in collections of many museums worldwide and labeled as originated from various Turkic-speaking places (such as Asia, China, Crimea, East & West Turkestan, Europe, Georgia, Indonesia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Tatarstan, Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan) speaks volumes.

The above Images of shchiteqler are courtesy of online collections (linked further) of PennMuseum of University of Pennsylvania, USA, Museum of Ethnography of Hungary, Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, USA, Metropolitan Museum of Art, USA, Ethnography Museum of Sweden, British Museum of Great Britain.

The due credit and appreciation are not always given to the skilful developers of the unique art in those museum collections: Successful Tatar leather artisans and entrepreneurs had not only manufactured uniquely decorated footwear in its “birthplace” Kazan-Arshcha area of Tatarstan to sell globally, but also had travelled far to trade and open workshops in Central Asia/Turkestan, Caucasus, Eastern Europe, cities of Rossiyan Empire. They shared their exceptionally-processed leather technology inherited from the Volga Bulgars (referred as bulgari/ safiyan/ sahtiyan/ yuft’) and unique decorated footwear making skills, they trained apprentices throughout European and Asian continent for centuries up until early 20ies century.

Let’s celebrate, promote and practice the

Arts of Native “Skilled Tongues” and “Skilled Hands” everyday! 

Nov 10 2025

Treasuring shchiteqler

A pair of intricately and skilfully decorated shchiteqler is good enough to feel and look exceptional! But when researching about uniquely decorated Tatar boots, the more the happier! 2025 has been a year of experiencing a great variety of shchiteqler: ~215 years old… ~3 months young…

Ledermuseum in Offenbach, Germany, owns allegedly the oldest pair in their archives; History and Ethnography Museum in Arsk, Tatarstan, Rossiyan Federation has the largest number of shchiteqler on display. These museums, that are located in two small European towns thousand miles away from each other, possess the treasure that unites them: tangible evidence of impressive leather craftsmanship of the Tatars. Both small towns of Arsk and Offenbach also share “gone” big fame of an epicenter of exceptional leather manufacturing: in late 18th-early 20th centuries both places were bustling with production and trade of quality processed skins and leather goods.

Deutsches Ledermuseum has an impressive collection of ~30 thousand leather artifacts, 12 of which are crafted with Kaiyly Kün. This “extremely distinctive” technology identified as “Ledermosaik” in 1967 museum’s catalogue, as “Saffianleder mit Mosaiken, Mosaikarbeit” in 1980 catalogue, and“Lederinlegearbeit (leather inlay)” on the tags that are placed by actual items. On a windy fall day, a museum curator Leonie Wiegand revealed 7 pairs of tall boots, 1 pair of short boots, 2 pairs of boot shafts, 1 pair of shoes and 1 pouch that were acquired in 1939 from a collector Slg.Schmid of Vienna and have been preserved in excellent condition in the museum archives. One pair of the boot shafts are dated 1812 and noted as to be brought from Rossiyan Empire. Those are the oldest known (with exact date) shchiteqler but they look like have just been crafted! Each item in Deutsches Ledermusuem collection is an excellent representation of versatile assortment of products crafted with kaiyly kun technology in late 18-early 20th centuries. The design in each item does not repeat and speaks to incredible creativity of the Tatar individual and collective leather craftsmanship.

Out of 12 items, the only image that is permissible to be presented is the boot on the left that was photographed for the Deutsches Ledermuseum’s catalogue #6 published in 1980. (The copyright is: © Deutsches Ledermuseum, C. Perl-Appl. The caption reads: Boot, Kazan, Tatarstan, early 19th century). Crafted with Kaiyly Kün technology items are in the Deutsches Ledermusuem’s archives: They are neither displayed on the museum floors nor on the website. Hopefully one day, shchiteqler will be showcased digitally and/or physically for visitors to appreciate the craftsmanship of the Tatars.

A collection of Arsk Historical and Ethnographic Museum brings unique Tatar leather craftsmanship to the perspectives that allow assessment of the Art of Kaiyly Kün through the centuries and into the current times. A large number (over 100 by a shy estimate) of Kaiyly Kün items are exhibited throughout two museum floors and are harmoniously weaved in permanent collection displaying rich history and ethnography of the town. The museum curators Gelyusya Khazieva, Alsu Murtazina, Irina Sinichkina, Regina Akhmatgalimova and others have put a lot of efforts in displaying leather items with distinctive Tatar decorations throughout the museum, allowing the visitors to engage and learn. The museum boasts of massive Kaiyly Kün collection because the Town of Arsk (Arshcha in Tatar language, ~30 miles north-east of Kazan) has been a cradle of Kaiyly Kün, the manual technology that has no analogy and has been mastered in this area for centuries. Arsk has been a backbone of Muslim thought and leather craftsmanship: Promotion of Islamic education and laborious manual artistry have been two prominent features of the Volga Bulgars-turned (Volga/ Idel-Ural)-Tatars for millennia. 

Leather processing and production of shchiteqler became profitable business in 19th-early 20th centuries because of increasing demand among European, American and internal aristocracy of intricate manually crafted work- the elaborately decorated handiwork practiced over millennia by people of various ethnic backgrounds of Eastern Europe, Western, Central Asia (referred as Tartars, Tatars, Muslims, Noghays, Turks, people of Turkistan, Asians, etc.). Up until late 1920ies, large quantities of traditional and customized shchiteqler had been manufactured by individuals and private enterprises in Arshcha (Arsk) and Kazan as well as workshopped far outside of these areas. After ~40 years of hiatus, production of shchiteqler (with simplified designs) continued in less quantities by Soviet state-owned Arsk Footwear factory from 1964 to 2006, the operation of which slowly dwindled in early 2000 due to inability survive novice market economy.

As of now, only a very small number of individual artisans continue producing shchiteqler and building on the legacy of ceased-to-exist Arsk factory. Company “Сахтиян / Sahtiyan” (from Persian ساختيا derived from ساخته “saht” meaning “fit/processed/made), is the only leather goods enterprise that carries reasonable inventory (in their one small shop in Kazan) of elaborately and uniquely designed shchiteqler but with the hides sourced from outside of Arshcha-Kazan. There is one functioning factory that processes leather these days in Kazan-Arshcha area: only cowhides and on a small scale. It is branded as “Сафьян (Safyan/ Saffianleder)”, another way of spelling of sahtiyan: this term carries the legacy of high quality soft colored fragrant leather (originally referred as Bulgari, later as Cordovan, Morocco, Russia) processed with exceptional original technology mastered by the Volga Bulgars, the ancestors of modern Tatars.

Although manually-crafted-with-Kaiyly-Kün shchiteqler are slowly re-gaining popularity, the amount of produced Tatar boots is not even 1% of allegedly estimated annual production of 3 million pairs during primetime. Our dream is that shchiteqler are back on the world stage, in demand so greatly that their supply exceeds the 19th century levels, and that young people are eager to learn, master and benefit from impressive and unique leather craftsmanship of the Tatars. 

Curious abut other leather art explorations and connections? Checkout our other postings/ publishings here or just keep scrolling down this page.

Oct 3 2025

Connecting the Dots

“What is primary: a line or a circle?” I asked. “The dot” she answered with no hesitation.

 Fadhila Al Dhahouri of Global Center of Islamic Art, an impressive young visionary, made it very clear that the dot can undeniably evolve into both the line and the circle, and allow the infinite transformation into the beautiful, the harmonious, the inspiring. Fadhila and exceptionally talented Sandy Kurt empower the world for a “search for knowledge” through engagement of artistic potential within aesthetics of Islamic discourse. In which activation of creativity enables humanity and is connected with the higher power, Allah.

Specifically, the art of practical geometry is connecting individual’s humanity and internal energy through interplay of dots, lines, circles – visible or hidden. This unity is built on paramount importance of symmetry, balance, harmony, precision, order and the internal individual desire to seek for those. For centuries, guided by structure, spiritual energy and eternal potential of geometry, myriads of ornamental solutions have been mastered. They all offer deep engagement to the ones who create them and the ones who seek the learning. 

With knowledge that “geometry enlightens the intellect and sets one’s mind right” (Ibn Khaldun’s (1332-1406), we have been exploring the role of Islamic aesthetics and practical geometry in the ancient leather art of the (Volga) Tatars, the descendants of the Turkic nomads of EurAsia (Turkic Khaganates of 6-8th centuries) and the settled Volga Bulgars, whose indigenous lands are referred these days as Tatarstan Republic. Volga Bulgaria were the first northernmost civilization that in 922 officially accepted Islam under the mission of Ibn Fadlan, the envoy of Abbasid caliph al-Muqtadir. In 10-13th centuries, Volga Bulgaria had manifested itself as a powerful center for Islamic education, science, art and lifestyle.

The Volga Bulgars’ Islamic knowledge, esthetics and material culture had been transmitted through immense trading channels of those times, so-called Volga Trade route and Silk Road. People of Volga Bulgaria have continued being a backbone of Muslim networks despite of complex and endless military, political, religious, authoritarian, colonizing processes. The descendants of the Volga Bulgars are now called the Tatars. Representing the largest and the most spread-out ethnic minority in ~17 mln. sq. km. territory of Rossiyan Federation, the modern Tatars have been slowly recovering their collective memory loss of their own impressive Islamic history. The leather art of the modern (Volga) Tatars serves as a vessel that has protected the core from turbulent realities, the vessel that carries a powerful blend of Tengri’s connection with nature and Allah’s empowerment of humanity.

  • Two more worth sharing quotes:

from Quran (hand-written and translated by Fadhila) on obligation of seeking the knowledge by both Muslim man and woman. This motto is worth following by any, fidel or infidel. The modern reality is increasingly and intentionally complex, and the survival in it is possible only with developed critical thinking.

from ibn al-Haytham’s (965-1040) “The Optics” (snapshotted from Windy Shaw’s book) on never-ending complexities of the world. Ibn Al-Haytham’s statement compliments the Quranic wisdom and emphasizes the constant search for the truth using the senses. 

Sep 7 2025

Defining ageless, timeless, borderless

Longing for a pair of soft, hand-crafted shchiteqler is a no brainer. The Tatar boots’ undeniable appeal, unforgettable artistry and luxurious feel leave no one indifferent – little or old, ages or miles apart.

Our cutest model, Beekeh, who is celebrating her first anniversary this week, here in USA, thousand miles away from her birth country of Turkiye – is rocking the Tatar shchiteqler that she borrowed from a 50-year-old young-looking doll, whose Tatar ethnic outfit was lovingly crafted by 80-year-old Flora Kalmurzina in Kazan.

Flora hanum could not have imagined that her tiny shchiteqler (hand-stitched in 2012) would be adored by a little beauty in 2025, over five thousand miles away from Kazan, Tatarstan. A hundred years before and over one thousand miles apart in the city of Istanbul in 1912 while writing short story “Kezhul shchiteq”, the prominent Tatar genius Gayaz Iskhaki could not have fathomed that an iconic Tatar footwear craft would have survived the tumultuous beginning of the 21st century mostly due to humble efforts of amateurs like Flora Kalmurzina. 

Although Beekeh is not yet knowledgeable of exceptional value of shchiteqler made with the unique technology of kaiyly kün (aka Tatar leather mosaic), her excitement is comparable with little Ahmadulla’s anticipation described in Iskhaki’s story. It opens up with the boy waiting for his father bring him a coveted pair of shchiteqler, a symbol of status and wellness in early 20st century. Little boy has been dreaming about the boots made from the highest quality fragrant supple goat leather that had been processed with exceptional technology mastered by the Volga Bulgars (ancestors of the Tatars) over thousand years ago…

Linking time and space via material culture and emotional response allows experiencing past, present and future in one continuum. Exploratory connections encourage appreciation of history and respect to collective memory that are foundation for meaningful future!

Wondering if Ahmadulla got his dream shchiteqler? Gayaz Iskhaki’s “Kezhul shchiteq” short story is written in Tatar language, originally with Arabic script. It has been transliterated in Cyrilic and Latin. You can read a Latin version here, a Cyrillic version here. Audio recording is also available here. Google offers a good translation into English of the Cyrillic version but not the Latin. Want us to reveal you a twist in the plot? Message us in Instagram.

May 19 2025

A Force of Transcending Inspirations

A contemporary writer Nadeem Aslam’s phrase “pull a thread here and you’ll find it’s attached to the rest of the world” has inspired us to explore and pay tribute to myriads of impactful global contributions spanning millennia to shape the staple of human clothing – ornamented footwear. We are pulling the thread that uniquely and distinctly binds all decorative elements of soft leather shchiteqler to discover a continuum of captivating artefacts of material culture in the forms of vessels, stone carvings, organic fragments, paintings, photos, texts, cinematography…

Tall protective footwear enters EurAsian nomadic people’s life during the times of domestication of a horse around 3500 BCE (before common era). The first depictions of people wearing foot coverings appear between 9th and 7th centuries BCE during the time of Assyrian rule (nowadays the territories of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkiye). A leather boot from Pazyryk burials (Altai mountains, nowadays in Kazakhstan, Mongolia) of 4th-3d centuries BCE is the earliest example of impressive leather craftsmanship and spiritual significance embedded in ornamentation.

Roughly one millennium forward, in ~7th century CE (common era), the Volga Bulgars carry on the spirit and skills of nomadic predecessors to, eventually, become well-known for their processing of soft colored fragrant leather (reffered as bulgari, saffian, later as morrocco, russian). In 14-16th century, the descendants of Volga Bulgars (nowadays referred as Kazan /Idel-Ural /Volga Tatars of Rossiyan Federation) master Qaiely Kün’ ( referred in English as Tatar Leather Mosaic) technology to create exceptionally-decorated saffian boots –shchiteqler- a desired-by-many footwear.

Some 500 years later, in 2025, a boundaries-and-times-transcending look of a modern Tatar girl by @tatar.mosaics incorporates saffian shchiteqler by Sahtian with a SABR sweater featuring a painted version of the boots by Guzel Khaib, and Aigel Salakh leather bag, designed with the same Qaiely Kün technology as shchiteqler, both utilizing a so-called “Kazan” zhoye (stitch) that is featured in a recent eponymous documentary by Mira Rahmat and Bai Khairullin. The look is a synergy of millennium-long human ingenuity, innovation and craftsmanship. It could not be possible without impactful contributions of many creative agents that feed from wisdom of previous generations and impact the future connections. 

There wouldn’t be a popular SABR Yaratu Collection sweater without all previous collaborations of human creativity. This sweater impressively empowers the modern wearers through signaling belonging or/and awe: it features two uniquely-Tatar cultural staples – shchiteqler and “mongly zhyr”(soulful poem/song)  and offers a new, accessible way of “owning” a Tatar cultural icon. There wouldn’t be a talented Guzel Khaib’s famous painting without social virtual networks and the beloved Tatar song about a heart’s yearning for shared love “Shchygarsynmy Karshy Alyrga?Would you come to greet me?” (lyrics by Damir Garifullin, music by Valeriy Ahmetshin) originally performed in 1963 by legendary Tatar singer Ilham Shakirov. And so on…

We are grateful to all forces and links in the history that inspire creative spirit of modern artists. Reminded by Diana Darke’s “everything is a continuum – nothing just appears out of vacuum”, we promote a respectful and appreciative mindset: different, versatile, distinct people and cultures contribute and inspire the evolution of material heritage that is interconnected, and, thus, the most valuable!

Mar 8 2025

Celebrating the Beauty!

We are celebrating women today!

And everyday!

Female power is embedded in beauty of the world around and within!

What can be more expressive of female beauty than art and poetry!

This Tatar leather-textile-text-art-insipred collage features a beautiful exerpt from Gөlnaz Deniz poetry. It enlightens us of impossibility to be tired of beauty (maturlıkneñ eçenä qayvaqıt sıyıp bulmıy),its encompassing presence (soklanıp tuıp bulmıy. “Soklanu” loosely equates “to be in awe” in English).

The way Gөlnaz describes the feeling, when beauty and love are intentangled and make you fly, (Möldörämä tulğan hislär, tügelсә – tıyıp bulmıy) is untranslatable! It is worth to learn the endangered Tatar language just to feel the Tatar expressive poems that help connect us to ourselves and the world!

Here is one more treat from Gөlnaz Garipova-Deniz, poet, Tatar literature expert, educator. This poem is very lyrical. Here is how it is performed by Tatar singer Guzel Urazova. Interested in the meaning of the lyrics? Reach out to AlimaAcademy to signup for the Tatar Poetry course.

Feb 11 2025

Exploring Labyrinth In Marrakesh

It is a fact that overwhelming reliance on technological advances is eroding our memory. So, finding engaging activities to hone cognitive abilities is a must! What can be more engaging for the brain than challenge of finding your way without GPS (global positioning system)? One of the best places to be lost and search for the way out without a map are the mazes of Marrakesh Old Medina.

Rows of eye-catching, fragrant, colorful, locally sourced goods made of leather, fibers, brass, clay, straw. Endless flow of sellers, buyers, donkeys, cats, bikes. Mesmerizing geometry of shapes, blasts of vivid colors, clouds of fragrant aromas of simmered-for-hours dishes, soothing sounds of call for prayers and chatting in Amazigh, Arabic, French. Moroccan labyrinth of souks captivates and educates. Our goal of “not to be lost” were successful the more we practiced it. Although, the other goal, fueled by our passion to leather craft, was not so much.  We were on a mission to observe and document the decorative leather stitching technology that looks like “Kazan” stitch that has been utilized and mastered for centuries in Tatarstan. It is roughly 5000 km of air distance between Tatarstan and Morocco, but those are the places where, up to this day, this distinct manual decorative stitch is being actively used despite of pressing lures of mechanized world. 

In Marrakesh, we explored myriads of tiny workshops that had leather merchants and crafters working the magic of creating and attuning to the leather goods (Ottoman poufs, Berber bags, babouches), but every time we wondered about the leather decorators (stitchers and embroiders), there were silence, suspense, mystery around it. We were told that all decorative stitching happens in the female cooperatives in the Atlas Mountains.

When we asked to arrange for the compensated educational tour, various excuses were offered with subtle intention of pretense. We left Marrakesh without being able to see the stitching in action, but we got excited to find the only workshop that sells Tbourida boots. The boots that are worn during famous annual festival of riding horses and firing riffles that has been a Moroccan tradition since Middle Ages.

The decoration of these boots is made with the technology of leather mosaic that also the Tatar boots (shchiteqler) are made with. The decorative pattern cutouts and their attachment with distinct decorative stitch are similar, but shchiteqler are created with much more sophisticated technology of Tatar leather mosaic that is unique in its design complexity and intricacies of ornamental patterns and colors. 

The inquisitory nature of our short trip to impressive Morocco led us to having more questions than answers, specifically: How the exchange of leather crafting technologies happened in the time of Volga Bulgaria, Ulus Ulug, Kazan Khanate, Kazan Guberniya of Russian Empire (the earlier state names of current Tatarstan, the subject of Rossiyan Federation)? Is there any reason for the distinct manual decorative stitch to be deliberately guarded in Morocco? What do the Arabic words “sabra” and “sarma” referred in the souks mean? We might be digging for the answers to the first question for some time, but answers for the other two yielded some results thanks to…well… technological advances: internet. It seems that in a middleman economy of Morocco, creating an enticing enigma and baseless mysteries are the ways to keep the tourists coming. It turns out that:

An Arabic صبر  “sabra/sabr” (meaning “patience”) is referred to the cactus and the thread that is used to decorate the leather goods. It is widely believed that the thread is made from cactus, but is it really?: Here is an investigative story on searching the puzzling “sabra” silk.

An Arabic سارما “sarma” (from Ottoman Turkish صرمه  meaning “golden or silver thread, wire; wrapping”) is a term for the stitch that we have been looking for: It is performed similarly to the “Kazan” stitch. This compassionate FB page LarahCollection introduces the artisans of the Altai Mountains and their craftsmanship without the “burden” of the middleman. Sarma stitching is described as “a special embroidery work on leather that consists on sewing two pieces of leather together with special knots in the junction. All this work is done on the back of the leather”.

The page offers a video of the stitching that is performed almost in the same manner as “Kazan” stitch with a little difference. Can you engage your brain to identify this little difference by comparing the process of creating the Tatar “kazan” stitch and the Moroccan “sarma” stitch?

Decorated Leather Goods of Tatarstan and Morocco