Unique laying in both the continents of Europe and Asia, Turkey has a long practice of rug weaving since the days of the Seljuks' arrival from Central Asia in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. It was from the Ottoman Empire that the first carpets arrived in the West in the sixteenth century. Carpets of the Ottoman origin were frequently displayed in the paintings of the prominent artists of the day. Turkey continues to produce a wide variety of rugs and carpets on which it built its reputation as one of the world's most important weaving regions. Designs on Turkish rugs draw inspiration from both the Turkish culture and from its Eastern neighbors in Persia, the Caucasus and Turkestan.