Ala kiyiz (, ) or tekemet (, ) is an ornamenting style for textile floor- or wallcovering made by pressing wet, soaped wool of various colours together to make it felt. The chemical process of felting transforms the loose woolen fibers into a thick cloth. The felt carpet-making technique is a traditional folk art among the nomadic farming Kazakh, Kyrgyz and Mongolian peoples of the Tien Shan mountains and the steppes in Central Asia for over two and a half thousand years.The first written description of a yurt was recorded by the ancient Greek historian Herodotus as the dwelling tent of the Scythians, who lived in the northern Black Sea and Central Asian region from around 600 BC to AD 300. From the various methods of ornamenting, ala kiyiz is among the widest spread, with shyrdak.
