palas, pileless, handwoven floor covering made in most of the rug-weaving areas of the Middle East. The term is used variously as a label for rugs woven in different techniques, and usage varies with the location. While slit-tapestry kilims are described as palas in the Caucasus, the term is most frequently used to refer to several types of fabric woven mostly in eastern Iran. There it is posited that the kilim looks essentially the same on both sides, but the palas has one side intended to be turned upward and one side to face the floor. The Turkmen palas, as woven by the Yomut, Tekke, and Ersari tribes, is a large rug with a diamond grid and narrow borders in which blue yarn forms the design on a deep red field.