Hierve el Agua lies two hours away from Oaxaca.

It’s one of the most interesting geological formations in southern Mexico a rock formation with petrified waterfalls. The Tourist Yú’ù facility in Hierve el Agua boasts several guest houses as well as a thermal pool with mud famed for its therapeutic properties.

Just 23 kilometers outside of Oaxaca City is San Sebastian Abasolo.

Named in honor of Saint Sebastian and to honor the memory of José Mariano Abasolo, who fought with Hidalgo and Allende during the 1810 Mexican Independence Movement, this is a picturesque town.

San Sebastian Abasolo is a small town filled with large trees and peaceful paths that invite you to walk along fields of corn, beans, chilies, tomatoes, onions, and flowers. Its principal occupation is agriculture.

Benito Juarez is a mountain small community and the only Tourist Yu’u location that is not in the Central Valley. The town’s unique health clinic harvests medicinal plants from its small garden.

A 30-minute walk takes you to El Mirador, which offers a stunning view of the Oaxaca Valley, and, to the northeast, a glimpse of Pico de Orizaba, Mexico’s highest mountain.

In the same mountain range, you can also visit the Chinantec Indian small communities of Santiago or Comaltepec. Part of this area is a Pleistocene refuge, formed during the last Ice Age.

Within the area are diverse arrays of flora and fauna, although forestry threatens the region.

Farther east and to the north of Highway 190 in Teotitlán del Valle.

In Nahuatl, Teotitlán means “Place of the Gods”.

With approximately 5,000 inhabitants, this town is known for its weaving. It is said that history is woven into wool rugs, many of which are naturally dyed by substances such as cochineal and indigo.

Designs range from Zapotec themes to reproductions of famous paintings originally done by Picasso, Miro, Matisse, Diego Rivera, and Rufino Tamayo.

Santa Ana del Valle is downhill from Quialana, 34 km from Oaxaca City.

The villagers earn their living from agriculture and weaving.

The town has a museum with archaeological objects from the Zapotec period, as well as exhibits on the local experience of the Mexican Revolution, the Danza de la Pluma (Feather Dance), and traditional Zapotec weaving techniques using natural dyes.

Tlacolula is located 30 km from Oaxaca City.

It has approximately 10,000 inhabitants, but on Sundays, residents from outlying towns swell the population when they come together in a street market that has existed since pre-Hispanic times.

The women of nearby Quialana contribute to the atmosphere with their multicolored headdresses.

Tlacolula de Matamoros is a city and municipality in the Mexican state of Oaxaca, about 30 km from the center of the city of Oaxaca on Federal Highway 190, which leads east to Mitla and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. It is part of the Tlacolula District in the east of the Valles Centrales Region.

The city is located in the Tlacolula Valley, with is a broad valley with rich, volcanic soils.

The climate is a cross between steppe and savannah. It only receives about fifty millimeters of rain per year, but its relatively cool climate allows this to be just sufficient enough to be classified as humid. Most of this falls in the summer and fall.

Within the valley, the ground is small plains broken up by rolling hills and small streams, with larger mountains on the municipality’s edge. Most of the wild plants consist of grasses with cactus and other arid area plants, such as mesquite.

Wildlife consists of small mammals such as rabbits, opossums and moles along some species of birds. Rarely, an eagle can be seen.

The city is the commercial and political center of the Tlacolula Valley, which is named after it. This valley is home to over 60,000 people, many of whom are Zapotec speakers.

In April 2014, linguist Brook Danielle Lillehaugen, along with students from Haverford and Swarthmore Colleges, visited Tlacolula de Matamoros to present an online Tlacolula Valley Zapotec talking dictionary to local leaders. It was estimated that about 100 elderly speakers of this Zapotecan language remain.

The name most likely comes from the Nahuatl phrase tlacolullan, which means “place of abundance”.
However, some trace the origin to the Nahuatl phrase tlacololli, which means “something twisted”.
Its original Zapotec name was Guillbaan, which means “village of the burials”.

The appendage “de Matamoros” is to honor Mariano Matamoros of the Mexican War of Independence.

The Zapotecs probably arrived in the central valleys of Oaxaca in the 2nd century CE. At that time, much of the Tlacolula area was covered by a lake. Fray Juan de Torquemada thought that the Zapotecs arrived from a region called Panuco and established themselves first at Tule, with the first dominant settlement at Teotitlán del Valle. The early populations eventually drained the lake, and built a number of settlements. The first settlement nearest the modern city is at what is now San Antonio de la Cal, which was established around 1250 Eventually, the Zapotecs dominated most of the central valleys area. Tradition states that the city was first founded in Yagul, now an archeological site.

There are two competing stories as to how the modern settlement was established by the Spanish. The first states that it was founded as a way station for Europeans traveling to and from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec at the location between the Salado and Seco Rivers. However, flooding forced the community to move to the present location. The other version has the settlement founded by friars Gonzalo Lucero and Bernardino de Minaya as an evangelization center and monastery, to which the native population eventually drifted. Either way, the settlement was formally established as Santa Maria de la Asuncion Tlacolula in 1560. One of the first major constructions in the Spanish settlement was the Church of La Asunción in 1561. Many of the religious festivals which continue to this day were established around the same time.

After the establishment of the town, several haciendas were established belonging to the Alferez, Taniye and Soriano families.

During the Mexican Revolution, factions loyal to Venustiano Carranza and Francisco Villa fought for dominance here, with battles in the Sierra Juárez mountains and at the city itself.

During the 1960s and 1970s, the city was well known for counterfeit goods, which was mostly eliminated in the 1980s. Since the 2000s, it has been making a comeback, especially in the form of unlicensed CDs and DVDs.

During the 2006 Oaxaca protests, a number of “community radio stations” established to provide alternative outlets of information and propaganda. Since this time, most of these stations, including Radio Tlacolula, have not been able to get operating licenses from the federal government and exist illegally. They have also been the target of opposition forces seeking to shut them down. One effort to do so was attempted in 2008, but it was not successful.

Political tensions related to the election of a new municipal president have existed since 2009, with no apparent candidate. Much of the reason for this is the lack of support by the ejidos, or communal farm organizations. This issue for the ejidos is that the candidate must be from Tlacolula, and not candidates chosen by or associated with the state’s dominant PRI party. The current president is from the PAN party, but is an ex-PRI member who is accused of blackmail. The members of the ejidos have the right to nominate or support candidates collectively, which is normally done at a meeting called the “Caudillo del Sur.” Municipal elections are scheduled to be held in 2010.

In the early part of 2010, about 800 people organized into groups calling themselves “14 de junio,” “and “1 de mayo,” and took over lands legally belonging to Chagoya family. The people claim that they were not in possession of the land illegally and that Roberto Chagoya donated the land to families unable to afford to buy their own. The title of the land is under dispute with Ernesto Chagoya claiming ownership and denouncing the occupation. On 12 April 2010, municipal police forced the people off the land and the organizations have sought help from APPO and other organizations.

The streets of the city form rectangular grid, which spreads out from the 17th century Church of La Asunción and its adjoining plaza.

The main street extends north-south and connects to the Pan American Highway (Federal Highway 190). This main street is lined with permanents shops, which are open on Sundays for the customers that come into town for the weekly market.
Two notable stores along this street are the Mezcal Pensamento outlet and Chocolate la Tradición.

Tlacolula is a major mezcal producer, and Mezcal Pensamento offers more than twenty varieties, many of which are flavored with fruit, coffee and more.

Another important commercial location is the permanent municipal market which is located just off the main plaza. This market consists of two fifty by twenty meter semi-enclosed areas, each of which houses scores of vendors, mostly selling basic staples.

Tlacolula also has an old train station, which no longer hosts trains but does contain businesses such as a those selling bacon, fireworks and other products. The Casa de Cultura is in the municipal palace and sponsored by the Instituto Oaxaqueño de las Culturas.

The parish church, called the Church of “La Asunción de Nuestra Señora” was founded as a Dominican mission in the mid 16th century. It consists of the main church and the Chapel of the Señor del Tlacolula. The exterior and interior of the church are largely similar to other Dominican churches in the Central Valleys of Oaxaca; the retablos are adorned with silver, and the doors have ornate ironwork. In the “coro alto” (rear gallery) stands a large baroque pipe organ, restored in 2014.

A notable feature is the Baroque chapel dedicated to a crucifix called the Señor de Tlacolula, one of several “black Christ” images (Chalma, Esquipulas, Ocotitlan) that appeared mysteriously, and to which miracles are attributed. This chapel can be accessed directly from the atrium but the main entrance is from the a main nave of the church through an ornate iron gate guarded by statues. The chapel is elaborately and ornately decorated, and some of saints are depicted in unusual ways. The chapel is a regional pilgrimage site. The widespread devotion to the Señor is such that Pope Pius VII issued an indulgence stating that priests officiating at this altar can have the sins of one who has recently died completely forgiven.

The best known archeological site within the municipality proper is Yagul, a former city-stae associated with the Zapotec civilization. The site was declared one of the country’s four Natural Monuments on 13 October 1998. The site is also known locally as Pueblo Viejo (Old Village) and was occupied at the time of the Spanish Conquest. After the Conquest the population was relocated to modern Tlacolula where their descendants still live. Yagul was first occupied around 500-100 BC. Around 500-700 AD, residential, civic and ceremonial structures were built at the site. However, most of the visible remains date to 1250-1521 AD, when the site functioned as the capital of a Postclassic city-state. The site was excavated in the 1950s and 60s by archaeologists Ignacio Bernal and John Paddock.

More recently catalogued and recognized are a group of about one hundred caves and rock shelters in the Tlacolula Valley which are found in the Tlacolula and other municipalities. The significance of these caves is that many have pre-historic cave paintings and/or evidence of the transition of humans from hunter/gatherers to sedentary farmers due to the domestication of corn and other plants on the American continent. INAH has worked to recommended these caves to become a World Heritage Site with investigation and documentation ongoing. The site was inscribed onto Mexico’s “Lista Indicativa de México” in the 2000s and WHS recognition was received in 2007.

The caves and rock shelters vary in size and what they contain. Many contain paintings and other forms of graphic representation. Contents include ceramics and stone tools. The corn materials show similarities to the first vestiges of the domestication of wheat and rye in the Middle East. One of the deepest caves is called the Cueva de la Paloma. The caves have been studied since the 1960s, especially the Cueva de Guilá Naquitz (white stone in Zapotec), which has some of the best evidence for the domestication of corn and squash, which dates back more than 10,000 years. Other caves, such as those near Yagual and Mitla confirm findings at Guilá Naquitz and show human occupation to about 8000 years BCE the sites also show similarities to the Head Smashed and Buffalo Jump Complex sites in Canada. Many more smaller caves with similar artifacts are thought to exist in the area.

One of the local legends is called “La Mujer Coyota” or The Coyote Woman. A young man who was well known for being honest and hardworking fell in love with a woman from another village.

Courtship followed in the traditional manner, the two married and he went to live with her. Soon after, the woman confessed that she was a nagual (an Aztec demon) in the form of a coyote. She told the man that if he let her change him into a coyote, they could be together forever. Being in love, the man accepted immediately.

As a coyote, the man found that in order to survive, he needed to rob attack farm animals and eat the meat raw, which he had never done before. He also found that the other coyotes did not respect him, and sniffed about his woman.

One day, his hunger took him to his old village and to the home of his former childhood friend. He tried to steal food from his friend, only to be attacked with a machete. He friend cried that he was a no good coyote who had no idea how to earn his bread. Upon hearing this, the man felt shame.

He returned to his wife as asked her to change him back into a man, which she did cursing. Returned to human form, the man killed his wife-coyote and returned to being an honest worker.

At Chocolate la Tradición, chocolate is ground and mixed with sugar, spices and other ingredients to make chocolate for drinking or to use in the making of moles. Much of the chocolate sold here is for consumption in the more rural areas. Hot chocolate is a widely consumed beverage in the valley, prepared with either milk or water, and usually eaten with locally made “pan de yema” or egg yolk bread.

It is known for its breads, ice cream and traditional cooking utensils such as comals and metates as well as traditional clothing. This market has a large food area that prepares many of the area’s local and regional specialties, such as various moles (colorado, amarillo, verde and chichilo) as well as tlayudas and meats in sauces based on tomatoes and beans.

Chapulines (edible grasshoppers) can be found as well. The local version of barbacoa is with goat meat in a dark red broth. The stew is accompanied by fresh corn tortillas, cabbage, radishes, cilantro and lime. Another traditional meal is to buy your meat and have it grilled on the spot, served with tortillas and condiments.

The Sunday market

The Sunday open air market (or tianguis) of Tlacolula is one of the oldest continuous in Mesoamerica and the largest and busiest in the Central Valley region of Oaxaca. The only market of any type which is larger is the Centro de Abastos (main grocery market selling to retailers) in the city of Oaxaca. This market is part of a tradition of weekly markets which is still found in Oaxaca, where people from rural areas come the local town to buy, sell and socialize, and are a functional feature of pre-modern peasant economies. The market provides a retail outlet for those living in communities too small to support permanent retail establishments.

Each Sunday, very early in the morning, officials close the main street for eight blocks between the main plaza and the bus station, near the highway. Paying fees for the right, vendors set up stalls all over these main road and along adjoining parts of the cross streets as well. Most are covered by low hanging colorful tarps which provide protection from sun and rain and almost completely cover the streets from the buildings on one side to those on the other. The most crowded and the most desired locations are those near the plaza and the permanent municipal market buildings. The main church and the municipal palace are both barely visible above all the tarps. Both pedestrian traffic and number of stalls decrease, the further way one gets from this area.

The stalls here are set up early in the morning and taken down that night. The number of vendors on any given Sunday varies but the number usually exceeds 1,000. Counts have been as high as 1,400 and 1,600. Stalls divide into three types. The first is a simple cloth on the ground, with the vendor sitting or kneeling behind it and his/her wares all day. This cloth may contain only a few items or it may be full to the edge. The second type is a simple table or stacked boxes. The third is a stall with walls, often constructed of interconnecting metal rods. They type of stall used depends on the economics of the vendors and the types of products they sell. In addition to the stalls, street vendors walk around the market carrying their goods with them, approaching potential customers to ask for a sale.

Generally, the Sunday merchants sell everyday household items, agricultural products, prepared foods, farm animals, mezcal, clothing, jewelry, kitchen utensils, audio CDs, tools, pottery for everyday use rather than purely decorative or tourist items such as barro negro pottery. Also not generally sold are heavy, bulky goods, which cannot be carried away by hand. While it is not unusual to see bananas stacked next to blue jeans, next to tools, most vendors of similar items tend to group together in certain zones. This is not done by formal agreement, mostly tradition, social contacts and economy play roles. For example, the sellers of rugs and blankets group together north of the churchyard, across from a grouping of vendors selling expensive handmade vests. This agglomeration has advantages for both buyer and seller. In this way, a wider range of goods can be offered and comparison shopping is somewhat possible. However, not all vendors of the same merchandise choose to sell near their competitors for a number of reasons, they do not want to compete price-wise, the stall space is too expensive or they use loudspeakers to attract customers.

Market day is considered a festive day in Oaxacan towns. Ranchers, farmers and other people from rural areas come to the city to sell shop and socialize. Products, especially certain prepared foods, are available here that are generally not anywhere else. One example is tejate, a fermented corn and mamey seed drink. Most of the rural people who come to town on Sunday are indigenous, and seeing women dressed in colorful traditional garb, such as rebozos, embroidered blouses and wool skirts, is more common on this day than even in the municipal market during the week. Many of the indigenous women’s home village can be identified by their clothing. It is common to see native women carrying bundles on their backs or on their heads. This is because most sellers are women. These women tend to be quite traditional, speaking Zapotec, trading items instead of accepting money and not permitting the taking of their photographs.

In the 1960s and 1970s, locals used to jokingly refer to this market as “Tokiolula” since it carried many counterfeit and cheap items from Asia. While the counterfeit goods were mostly eliminated in the 1980s, unauthorized CDs and DVDs, as well as other counterfeit goods have made their way back into the otherwise traditional market.

Festivals

The city hosts a number of religious and secular festivals during the year. Religious festivals include the feast of the Virgen del Rosario, (which was filmed by researchers from the University of Arizona), Day of the Dead and the feast of the Señor de Tlacolula.

For Day of the Dead, the municipality sponsors an “ofrenda” (Day of the Dead altar) for grade school children. The first prize was $5000 MXN.

The feast of the Christ of Tlacolula is held on the second Sunday of October, lasting five days, which is celebrated not only with traditional Masses, processions, folk dances and fireworks, but also with the Mixtec version of the Mesoamerican ball game.

The “Fiestas de las Cruces” last for two months from May to the early part of July.

To promote its principle products, the city hosts the annual Feria de Mezcal, Artesanía y Gastronomía (Mezcal, Crafts and Gastronomy Festival) in October.

Local Traditions

Despite its city status, one rural indigenous custom which is still practiced is the “tequio.” This is a form of communal work which is unpaid and done by community members for the public benefit. It is most often performed for infrastructure services such as laying water mains. Sometimes the tequio also consists of paying for part of the project.

Another tradition which can still be found is the use of a “marriage broker” to get families to agree to the event.

Teotitlán del Valle is a small village and municipality located in the Tlacolula District in the east of the Valles Centrales Region, 31 km from the city of Oaxaca in the foothills of the Sierra Juárez mountains.

As the seat of a municipality, the town of Teotitlán del Valle is the governing authority over nine other named communities, which covers a territory of 81.54km2. The total municipal population is 5,601 of which 4,427 or 79% live in the town proper.

The municipality is located in the Central Valleys region of Oaxaca, 31 km from the city of Oaxaca in the foothills of the Sierra Juárez mountains and the seat in located in a small level area in the same.

Principle elevations include the Gueliaa, Cerro Grande Quiea Less and Dai-N Nizz. Rivers include the Grande, the Gueu-Liaa, Guen-Dzu, Gue Duin, La Tchuvi, the Gue Ve-U and Gue Ya with one dam called the Piedra Azul.

It has a temperate climate similar to that of the city of Oaxaca. Vegetation here is mixed with a number of tree species. Wildlife is dominated by various bird species such as falcons, owls and ravens as well as small mammals such as opossums, skunks, and rabbits.

The name Teotitlán comes from Nahuatl and means “land of the gods”.

The original word Teocaltítlān means “Near the god’s home”.
teō = “god”, cal = “home”, ti-tlān = “near to”.

This village is considered to be one of the first that was founded by the Zapotecs around 1465.

It was originally named Xa-Guie, which means “at the foot of the mountain”.

According to research done by Manuel Martínez Gracida, there was a large stone split in half with the name of the Stone of the Sun.

It was the first idol of the Zapotecs here. It was believed that a god came from the heavens in the form of a bird, accompanied by a constellation of stars to found the temple here.

Established in 1465, it was one of the first villages founded by Zapotec peoples in this area and retains its Zapotec culture and language.

Teotitlán del Valle was refounded as a Spanish village in 1527. It is believed that the father of one of the Niños Heroes, by the name of Agustín Melgar, was from here, due to village records bearing his name.

The Preciosa Sangre de Cristo Church

The Preciosa Sangre de Cristo Church is the main church of the town and municipality and was begun in 1581, although not completed until 1758. This church was built on the site of a local Zapotec temple, which was destroyed when the Spanish arrived, replacing it with this church. In the foundations of the church, some of the construction of the original temple can be seen.

The facade of the church is made of quarried stone called cantera with decorative stonework in the main entrance and choir window.

On the side of the church is a small archeological area.

Inside the church there are traces of 16th century decoration with pre-Hispanic motifs. The interior is also notable for a large number of colonial-era santos or statues of saints, many executed in fine polychrome that is well preserved to the present day. Another religious attraction is the Chapel of Cristo Grande located in a private home on Aquiles Serdan Street.

Community Museum Balaa Xtee Guech Gulal

The name of the community museum is Balaa Xtee Guech Gulal, which means “in the shadow of the old village/people”.

The museum opened in 1995 and the most recent addition is a display dedicated to the Danza de la Pluma (“Feather Dance”). The museums contains sign in Spanish, English and Zapotec.

There are three main halls, one dedicated to the archaeology of the municipality, one to crafts, and one to traditional weddings.

The archeological hall contains mostly etched stones and ceramic items, which visitors can touch. A number of the pieces show signs of Olmec visitation to the area around 500 BCE.

The crafts room contains items such as old photographs, looms, exhibits on how wool is processed and dyes are made and used to make textiles.

The wedding hall contains a recreation of the groom performing his customary, ceremonial obligations, such as gifts. There is also a wedding mural.

Many birders come to view birds, especially above the Piedra Azul Dam. They are mostly targeting the “dry interior” endemics, like ocellated thrasher, bridled sparrow, dwarf vireo, Oaxaca sparrow, Boucard’s wren, gray-breasted woodpecker, slaty vireo, dusky hummingbird, and Sumichrast’s scrub-jay.

Birds can also been seen at the Benito Juárez dam when it fills during the rainy season in the summer.
Winter months (November–March) are the best time to see migratory birds, including herons and kingfishers.

In addition to birdwatching, other activities available in the mountain areas include hiking, horseback riding and mountain biking.

The two main attractions in the mountains are El Pichacho Peak, or Cerro Gie Bets (“stone brother” in Zapotec) and the Cuevita del Pedimento caves. Both are within hiking distance but permission is required and can be obtained from the community museum.

El Picacho is considered to be sacred, and its peaks offers a wide view of the Tlacolula Valley.

The Cuevita del Pedimento is a set of three caves that are customarily visited on New Year’s in order to petition the image of the Virgin Mary there for favors for the following year.

The most characteristic dishes here include mole negro, mole amarillo, liver with eggs and tamales, which can be filled with mole, corn, cheese, or chicken. Popular local beverages include hot chocolate, atole, atole with pulque, and mezcal.

According to the Enciclopedia de los Municipios de Mexico, one custom of betrothal involves the prospective groom going to the prospective bride’s parents, bringing gifts such as bread, candles, decorations, chocolate and fruit.

Another is to “rob” the girl, then find someone to negotiate a wedding with the parents. This person generally is someone with a good reputation in the community and usually is a senior citizen. She or he communicates the intentions of the boy and states where the girl is, often with fireworks to indicate the location. After negotiations, the parents set a wedding date and all come together to arrange the wedding.

The town’s major festival is the Feast of the Precious Blood of Christ which occurs each year on the first Wednesday of July and lasts about a week. The event has carnival rides and a basketball tournament but the main feature is “Danza de la Pluma” or Feather Dance (called Guyach in Zapotec). Dancers wear elaborate headdresses made from painted feathers, giving rise to the name in Spanish. The dance commemorates the conquest of the Aztec by the Spanish.

Textiles of Teotitlán del Valle

The community is famous for its weavings called “laadi” in the local language, with textiles as the main economic activity. This community is known for its woven wool rugs which use natural dyes such as those obtained by the cochineal insect. These rugs can have native indigenous motifs or more modern designs. The other main economic activity is agriculture.

Weaving in this village dates back at least until 500 BCE. The earliest weavings used cotton and ixtle and utilized the backstrap loom. Teotitlán would pay its financial tribute to the Aztecs in weavings. More modern weaving was introduced here by Dominican bishop Juan López Dezárate around 1535 when the bishop brought sheep and treadle looms to the area. The new materials and looms allowed for the weaving a large, heavy duty items such as rugs, serapes and blankets. Over time the village grew and began specializing solely in rugs to be used for trade or sale in markets of other towns in the other parts of the state. With the completion of the Pan-American Highway in the late 1940s, the area was connected with Mexico City, opening up markets. In the 1950s with air travel, tourists began coming to Oaxaca and taking interest in the crafts. A famed Zapotec weaver was Arnulfo Mendoza of Casa Serra Sagrada in Teotitlan, owner of La Mano Majica gallery in Oaxaca City.

The rugs are handcrafted from wool and most of the designs are woven from the craftsmen’s memory. Designs include Zapotec and Mixtec glyphs and fretwork, Navajo designs (a contentious issue) and more contemporary designed including reproductions of works by famous artists such as Picasso, Joan Miró, Matisse, Diego Rivera or Rufino Tamayo. The making of the rugs begins the washing of the raw wool to rid it of dirt and residues. Next it is carded then spun into yarn. The yarn is wound into large balls to prepare for dying with natural dyes such as those obtained from the needle bush, indigo, cochineal, “musgo de roca”, Brazilwood, Mexican marigold and others. some workshops use chemical dyes. The looms are hand-operated.

Weaving is done by both sexes in family workshops in which artisans of all ages participate in the work. About 150 families are involved in the craft, as well as several families that specialize in candle-making. One such workshop is the Artesanía Casa Santiago, located on the town’s main street since 1966. Most weavers work in agriculture as well as weaving but increasing consumer demand has prompted some to spend more time weaving. Workshops such as these even take custom orders with images of modern items such as a request for a wall hanging promoting Pentax cameras.

Many of the workshops permit visitors to enter and see how the rugs and other textiles are made. Some of the workshops have broadened their offerings to include wall hangings, handbags, pillow covers, jackets, ponchos and dresses.