The roots of Turkish tiles and ceramics dates all the way back to the 8th and 9th century Uyghurs, its influence traveling through Anatolia with the Seljuks. However, it was not until the Ottoman Empire that the art of hand-painted tiles rose to a new period altogether. The town of İznik was the most active center (hence the name 'İznik Tiles') a technically advanced area that received designs from Ottoman court artists to be realized and then sent back to the palace.