Originally created in Yemen during the 14th century, the yemeni shoe spread throughout the Mesopotamian Region, including Gaziantep, a city in Turkey that dates back to   3650 BC.

The yemeni is a uniquely handcrafted leather shoe using five types of leather and organic rubber sole. 

Gokhan Ozturk, originally from Gaziantep, grew up wearing these shoes and was inspired to revive the long lost tradition.

The Craftmanship

Our Yemyem's are handmade in Gaziantep, by our artisans using the same techniques that were used 700 years ago.

Each section of the shoe is assembled with a different type of leather: 

the upper with goatskin; the sides with ram skin; the inner lining with sheep skin; the inner sole with cowhide; and the sole with tanned buffalo.

The sides of the shoes are carefully hand stitched with a thick cotton thread dipped in beeswax.

Each Yemyem is hand dyed using raw materials.