Hamadan is one of the worlds oldest cities and is mentioned under the name of Ekbatana in the Bible. The city is a center for trading with carpets that are manufactured in the hundreds from nearby villages and cities. Hamadan, carpets were manufactured with a considerably higher quality .The carpets were called Shahr-baff (Shahr=city, baff=knot) and are similiar in structure to the Bidjar carpets. The carpets are manufactured with a roppy, shiny and often natural dyed handspun yarn, that provides a very durable surface and beautiful colour scale. Common for all these carpets is that they are nowadays made on a cotton warp with one weft. The patterns are mostly geometrical, but floral motifs also occur. Materials and design can be of very varying quality.