Conveniently located close to the port of Smyrna, which has been one of the most important trading centres on the Mediterranean in living memory, Ushak has a solid reputation in the carpet industry, dating back at least to the 16th century. Its workshops, renowned for the excellence of their weaving, soon enjoyed considerable success in Europe, and their renown was on a par with that of the Persian factories. This success encouraged the weavers to create various patterns, echoes of which can be found in the paintings of several of the great masters of Italian, Flemish and German painting. Lotto, Holbein, Memlinck and many others bear witness to this. The tradition continued until the end of the 19th century, when close trade links with the nearby Smyrna (now Izmir) led to the classic misunderstanding. The first European traders to find large consignments of Ushak goods in the harbour of Smyrna also named them after that city. The same mistake had been made in Bukhara and Samarkand: Western dealers thought they were produced in the city, when in fact it was a commercial centre that brought together goods from neighbouring cities!