Totally Talking Tile

I'm so smitten with the tile work in Turkey.  I love the design.  I love the colors. 

They're called Iznik tiles, after the small town where they were produced during the 15th and 16th centuries--the golden age of the Ottoman Empire.  They represent the artistic peak of the Empire, and a major technological innovation in world of ceramics.

Not many original Iznik tiles or ceramics remain; you can find them in mosques from this era and at Topkapi Palace--or at the British Museum in London.  Reproductions are for sale everywhere, of varying quality, but most hand-painted.

 Every bit of color in these photos is tile work.

Photo courtesy of Reese.  That's all tile up there.