The 81-year-old master is fulfilling requests from abroad for handcrafted copper samovars.

The traditional copper samovars produced by the 81-year-old samovar master in Samsun, using traditional methods, are finding buyers for 20,000 TL even from abroad.

Ömer Acar, an 81-year-old who has a shop in Vezirköprü district, has been working in the samovar making business for 72 years since he was 9 years old. Acar, who became a master in the samovar business he started at a young age, produces the entire copper samovar by hand. Acar states that food and tea cooked in copper are very delicious and that people show interest in copper samovars, saying, "I produce samovars from copper, brass, and bronze according to orders. Copper has been around since ancient times. When an order comes, I usually produce copper samovars. It takes 1 week to make. I do everything by hand. I do it without help. There is no one interested in this art. I am very attached to my art; I am a curious person. There is no one else like me in Turkey. I am the only master who makes a samovar from A to Z. I always say, if I hear that another person has done the same craftsmanship and quality, I will immediately quit. There is also demand for the samovars I make from abroad. I send samovars to Northern Ireland, Canada, and Germany. I make 6-liter samovars for 20,000 TL and 4.5-liter ones for 15,000 TL. Even the food cooked in a copper pot is very delicious. I entered this art at the age of 9. I am still continuing," he said.

GEOGRAPHICALLY MARKED VEZİRKÖPRÜ FLAT SAMOVAR

Additionally, the geographically marked 'flat samovar' produced by hand for 200 years in Taşhan in the center of Vezirköprü is attracting attention with its design. Master Saffet Topal, noting that production has decreased due to the dwindling number of masters, said, "There is no equivalent to the Vezirköprü samovar in the world. It cannot be because there are very few masters left. Recently, only 2 masters remain. This samovar is very different from others in terms of taste. The prices of Vezirköprü samovars vary according to their quality. They are sold between 700 and 3,000 TL," he said.