your most frequently asked questions answered: turkish towels

I still have the first set of Turkish towels I purchased. The store I purchased them from is no longer in business and we were several years away from launching Threads by Nomad. When we did launch our business, however, I began looking for Turkish towels almost instantly. I had developed a little bit of a collection since that first purchase and wanted to share the towel love.

Fast-forward to today, we now carry a couple of brands of Turkish towels in a variety of styles and sizes. Perhaps it's my wishing for warmer weather, perhaps it's the fact that we just ordered more towels to arrive at the end of February, but Turkish towels have been on my brain lately. So, I thought I'd take the opportunity to answer all of your most frequently asked questions about my favorite linens.

1. Are all Turkish towels Turkish?

Yes and no. Technically, Turkish towels are from Turkey. If a towel is from anywhere other than Turkey, it's not really a Turkish towel. With that said, we carry two lines of towels—one from Ethiopia (these will be restocked soon) and one from Turkey. Both brands produce towels that are absorbent, fast-drying, and super soft. If you ask me, these are the attributes I look for in a "Turkish" towel and they are derived from the use of an organic cotton that is made of very long fibers.

2. Do they actually work?

Yes and yes. I personally prefer them to regular towels. Again, those long cotton fibers are very absorbent and will have you dry in no time!

3. Do they dry quickly?

Yep, they do that, too! Because Turkish towels are so fine, they take significantly less time to dry than a conventional towel.

4. Do you really use them in your bathroom?

100%! They work better than a conventional towel and look prettier! Why wouldn't I use them in my bathroom? I even have a set of hand towels in the same fine cotton for my kitchen and guest bath!

5. What's your favorite thing about them?

Aside from everything else I mentioned, I really love how easily they pack. They're so much less bulky than a regular pool or beach towel. Whether I'm traveling by plane to another country or by foot to my pool I always have a couple of Turkish towels stashed in my bag.

6. What else can you do with them?

Here are just a few things...