What It Is to Carpet Shop in Turkey
A few weeks ago, when John and Vicki where here, we all went to Cappadocia (a region in Turkey) for some sight seeing and a wedding. One of the things that I like about Goreme (the city we stayed in), is all of the carpet shops that you can visit. I think we went into at least five shops, some small and some large. The one I will tell you about today is by far the largest shop in Goreme, but not the largest shop in the region.
Here is what the shop looks like from the street. One side has rugs hanging from roof to ground, and the carpets wrap all around the side of the building the length of the building, about 20 yards. The carpets are also displayed on the ground level across the front of the building, about 50 yards.
Here is a better shot of just how many carpets are displayed in the front of the building. Now that I know more about carpets, I can see carpets, sumacs, and kilims. These names refer to the different techniques of weaving that used to make the floor coverings.
When you go into this particular shop, you get a little faked out at first. Along the street side of the shop, there are little stalls set up with other types of Turkish treasures: pillow covers, pashminas, lace work, jewelery, and housewares. The stalls are about five yards wide and 6 yards deep, and it makes it seem like all of the carpets on sale are hanging from the sides of the building.
After you take an interest in the various floor coverings, you are invited into the back passages of the store. You see room after room that is stacked shoulder high or higher with carpets. A lot like this:
This next one is a picture of the guy who owns the shop. His English is excellent and he really knows his stuff. You know the image of the carpet dealer, the guy who will say anything to get you to purchase a rug? Well, after seeing how many rugs this guy has, I know he will not lose his shirt if I don't buy anything. He knows that too, so he did not put much pressure on us to buy, rather he was happy to teach us what he knows about the history of rugs and the differences between the styles.
After a good hour of looking at carpets, sumak, and kilims, we had learned quite a bit. Adam was ready to buy yet another rug (we had already gotten two little kilims (2x3 ft) and a carpet (4x7ish) by this point and he was also eying some donkey bags, but more on those latter.), so I wanted to get him out of there. At one point John asked how many rooms he had and how much stock he had. We were all flabbergasted when he said that the building had about 20 rooms like the one we were in, and that this room held about 5000 items. That makes his stock around 100,000 items! You would definitely find something you loved if you had enough time here.
The lessons learned about carpet shopping in Turkey:
1. Take your time
2. Ask questions
3. Keep an open mind
4. Colors look different in the day light
5. Buy what you love
So, if you are thinking about getting a rug on one of your travels (or on your visit to see me!), start saving your quarters and dollars, because I promise you saving your pennies will not be enough to finance this addictive habit.
Here is what the shop looks like from the street. One side has rugs hanging from roof to ground, and the carpets wrap all around the side of the building the length of the building, about 20 yards. The carpets are also displayed on the ground level across the front of the building, about 50 yards.
Here is a better shot of just how many carpets are displayed in the front of the building. Now that I know more about carpets, I can see carpets, sumacs, and kilims. These names refer to the different techniques of weaving that used to make the floor coverings.
When you go into this particular shop, you get a little faked out at first. Along the street side of the shop, there are little stalls set up with other types of Turkish treasures: pillow covers, pashminas, lace work, jewelery, and housewares. The stalls are about five yards wide and 6 yards deep, and it makes it seem like all of the carpets on sale are hanging from the sides of the building.
After you take an interest in the various floor coverings, you are invited into the back passages of the store. You see room after room that is stacked shoulder high or higher with carpets. A lot like this:
This next one is a picture of the guy who owns the shop. His English is excellent and he really knows his stuff. You know the image of the carpet dealer, the guy who will say anything to get you to purchase a rug? Well, after seeing how many rugs this guy has, I know he will not lose his shirt if I don't buy anything. He knows that too, so he did not put much pressure on us to buy, rather he was happy to teach us what he knows about the history of rugs and the differences between the styles.
After a good hour of looking at carpets, sumak, and kilims, we had learned quite a bit. Adam was ready to buy yet another rug (we had already gotten two little kilims (2x3 ft) and a carpet (4x7ish) by this point and he was also eying some donkey bags, but more on those latter.), so I wanted to get him out of there. At one point John asked how many rooms he had and how much stock he had. We were all flabbergasted when he said that the building had about 20 rooms like the one we were in, and that this room held about 5000 items. That makes his stock around 100,000 items! You would definitely find something you loved if you had enough time here.
The lessons learned about carpet shopping in Turkey:
1. Take your time
2. Ask questions
3. Keep an open mind
4. Colors look different in the day light
5. Buy what you love
So, if you are thinking about getting a rug on one of your travels (or on your visit to see me!), start saving your quarters and dollars, because I promise you saving your pennies will not be enough to finance this addictive habit.
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