Narrator: İsmail Araç is one of the last artisans
in the world who still makes parchment completely by hand.
The 92-year-old spends one hour scraping every single piece
of hair off a sheepskin.
Narrator: It can take a month to make one
of the most durable canvases in the world.
But this art nearly disappeared
when mass-produced paper became a cheaper
and faster alternative.
And İsmail has struggled for years
to find apprentices to train.
Narrator: We went to Bergama in western Turkey
to learn how this ancient craft is still standing.
İsmail buys sheep and goat skins from a local warehouse.
After doing it for 70 years,
he can spot high-quality ones quickly.
Narrator: He puts on his work clothes, tough boots,
and a homespun nylon apron and begins the day.
This was once a popular area for tanneries,
but now, only İsmail's stone workshop has survived.
He knew he was interested in making parchment
since he was just 6 years old.
He remembers leather tanners
and parchment makers cleaning their hides near his home.
Narrator: He started his career as a leather tanner, too.
Many of the skills he learned
helped him master parchment-making.
Narrator: First, he uses a pump to wash the skins.
Narrator: He hangs the hides for 10 minutes
before soaking them in lime water.
The calcium hydroxide breaks down the hair and excess fat.
The chemicals are harsh on human skin,
but İsmail never wears gloves.
Narrator: The hides soak for five days.
He has to be careful not to leave them in for too long.
Narrator: This block of wood helps İsmail keep the hides
in place as he cleans.
Scraping the hair off is the most physically demanding part
of the job.
The curved knife, called a kavaleta, is extremely sharp,
so he has to be precise to avoid damaging the skin.
Narrator: İsmail bends and scrapes both sides
of the hide to get it as smooth as possible.
Narrator: For years, he did this work alone.
It was not easy to find an apprentice willing
to follow in his footsteps.
Narrator: İsmail nails the hide
into a wooden board to stretch and dry.
These nails are as old as he is.
Narrator: He leaves the hides to dry for up to five days.
Narrator: Parchment was first used over 2,000 years ago.
It was invented in the ancient Greek city of Pergamum
and became the main writing material
across Europe by the Middle Ages.
Its durability made it ideal
for manuscripts such as the Dead Sea Scrolls,
the Magna Carta, and the Constitution of the United States.
Early Christian monks wrote religious texts
and formal documents on it.
But gradually, paper took over
as it became easier and cheaper to mass-produce.
By the 15th century,
scribes all over Europe had mostly switched to paper.
The market for parchment dwindled,
and in the following centuries, it never recovered.
İsmail says many stopped making parchment altogether
in his lifetime,
but his passion for the craft kept him going.
Narrator: He's sold parchment to tourists
and relied on leather sales to stay afloat.
In 2006, he partnered with the Bergama Culture
and Art Foundation
to open the city's only parchment store, Pergamon Parchment.
His reputation as a master parchment maker
is what attracted local artists like Meltem Demirel
and her husband, Sinan.
The couple started out working in the store
painting, cutting, and packaging parchment for sale.
Eventually, İsmail took them under his wing
and accepted them as apprentices.
Narrator: Today, Meltem is also a master,
but the couple still values İsmail's guidance.
Narrator: Now, they both run the shop by themselves.
But just like İsmail did before them,
the couple has struggled to find young people interested
in learning the craft.
Narrator: Other than that,
Meltem says business is going well.
They work with government agencies
that still use parchment paper for official records,
and they ship it to customers all over the world.
But their main clients live in the city.
Clients like Fatma Kayalı,
who started using the material for her artwork 30 years ago.
Today, she gets her parchment exclusively
from Meltem and Sinan.
Narrator: Fatma showcases her work depicting scenes
from nature at exhibits around the world.
Narrator: The physically demanding nature
of parchment-making became too difficult for İsmail,
and in 2020, he had to stop working full time.
But Meltem and Sinan are determined
to pick up where he left off.
Narrator: The couple is now teaching the history
of parchment at schools
and through workshops to younger children.
Narrator: As İsmail nears 100,
he's focused on the legacy of the craft in Bergama,
and he's confident he's left it in the right hands.
Narrator: Hi, this is the Still Standing team.
Over the past year, we've met artisans
from around the world who preserve traditional methods
and techniques, like preparing soy sauce in Japan,
cleaning leather in Morocco,
and making the perfect mirrors in India.
If you enjoy our videos,
please like and subscribe to see more stories
about the people keeping centuries-old traditions alive.
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Thank you.