Tales of Touring Turkey by Fred Moore:

THE CARPET SHOP

© 2009 by Author

The carpet shop Dinner display. Kenan, his Dad and us. Carpet shop party folks. Very nice rug!

Join us for an evening at the carpet shop in Incirlik village, a simple relaxing visit. We’re on the front patio of “our” local shop. How do you like the possessive, as if it’s our shop! We visit around 6 pm, just after work generally. The shop is immediately across the street from the base entry control gate. Selahaddin (the owner) and his sons, Kenan, Hakan, and Harun are there with the hired man; all of them are sitting out front. The patio area is designer brick about 3 by 9 meters and it affronts the entire shop. The patio meets an asphalt street with a 4 to 6-inch graceful sloping curb. It’s completely covered and laced throughout the support structure are branches of a massive aged grapevine that must be four inches thick at the ground. The grapes have recently come of age and now they’re gone. The vine gently caresses a cedar tree as they both make their way through a bench seat at the one end of the patio. The spreading arms of the vine completely fill the support structure trusses as they search for a resting place.

On that same end is a black wrought iron grill/fence about 5 feet tall and there are generally three carpets thrown over it when the shop is open. This is kind of the sign that the place is open. Tonight it is adorned with an Afghan runner (mostly bold rusty red with black print), an old but beautiful Turkish Taspinar (with primary colors of deep red, ocean blue, silver gray and golden tan), and an Iranian Nain (done in rich creamy ivory with blue print). On the opposite end there's more wrought iron from floor to roof, it separates us from the shop next door. Affixed to the iron are two more beautiful carpets, both Iranian. Immediately under these two pieces is a wooden love seat draped with several tiny new production Turkish kilims. The shop’s storefront has two massive plate glass display windows on either side of the entry door. In the display windows this evening are two additional carpets, one a Nain with silk highlights (designed with multiple squares, each with a design of its own, some floral, others with animals), the other window is filled by an Afghani with a deep burgundy red field and dark blue and black design features.

Strewn about the patio at the foot of the display windows are pillows of different origin and size; these are carpet, some are Turkish, others are Iranian. Several of these pieces were grain sacks or saddlebags in their former life; transformed now to appeal to the American buyer. What’s curious about these pillows is the fact that they were simply utilitarian pieces made for carrying grain or other agricultural products. I’ve even seen the saddlebags carting baby goats in the past.

Selahaddin is a short jovial man in his late forties or early fifties. He’s Kurdish by ethnicity and speaks Kurdish, Turkish, some German, Farsi, Arabic and a little English. He has 5 sons and a daughter. His son Kenan now runs the shop full time; it’s open every day but Sunday and is open from around 11 am until 9 pm or closing. The time will vary based upon customer demand; if someone is in the shop it will not close sometimes until midnight. As we approach the shop from across the street, all have been sitting out front. By the time we reach the patio, they’re all on their feet. We are immediately offered chairs and the drink of our choice; Carol as usual has Turkish Tea and I get bottled water. I was a large fan of tea in the past but have found it complicates and contributes to my headache frequency, so don’t drink it now in the evening. That pains me a little; you see it just seems so out of character in this country not to except the offer of tea!

The hired man (Taner) has to go down the block to alert the tea man that we need one tea brought to the shop. It takes him longer to walk down and back then it does for the tea to reach Carol. As the tea is solicited, one of the boys brings around a small table to set it on when it arrives. Ordering the tea is NO inconvenience at all and will be repeated as often as necessary to ensure Carol has all she wants. A young man brings the tea in a small “tulip” glass [right] in a rounded plastic saucer with a tin spoon and two sugar cubes on the side. The glass, although referred to as a tulip, is actually more hourglass in shape. It’s about 3 inches tall and an inch and a half in diameter with the center most part of the glass drawn in slightly as if it were squeezed in the middle when it was hot and solidified that way. Since the tea comes piping hot, one must hold the glass by the upper most rim with two fingers and tilt the glass just so to sip the tea. This is probably the most traditional form of hospitality offered across Turkey and in many Middle Eastern countries.

We’re greeted as if we’ve not been to the shop for months, and in fact, we’re here a couple nights a week. Each time we visit if it has been a day since coming last, we’re asked where we’ve been, have you been ill, "we missed you", they say. This is another great example of the friendly hospitality of this great country that is so hard to leave. OK, I know what you’re thinking and you can put it out of your mind, (there is NO sales pitch involved in this writing) you can see the sincerity in the eyes and the face of these people, and there’s NO superficiality here either. Friendly courteous behavior is a way of life here NOT a sales gimmick!

We’ve been a frequent visitor here and I must admit we go now simply to socialize and gather further knowledge of the fine art and history of handmade carpets. We are considered and often referred to as family; we’re not simply customers. We eat at the shop; we have dinner and ice cream and sweets! (I must tell you about the sweets one day.) We visit with drop-ins; we talk carpets, kilims and history at the shop. We constantly get into discussions with persons who drop by; we talk about our years in Turkey, we discuss carpet origins and structure, we talk about weather, politics and whatever else come up in the hours we spend at the shop. Carpets are a medium of discussion in the arts and culture of this vast region of the world. (There’s a 2002 book, “The Carpet Wars” by Christopher Kremmer; very readable and it discusses how carpets have played a role in Middle Eastern evolution).

Education is a major focus of our frequent visits. We are often at the shop when dealers stop by to off load their pieces for consideration, they come to Selahaddin’s shop first in this area because he has a reputation for honesty, integrity and his hand is his bond. He’s been in the carpet business for over 25 years. The dealers come from across Turkey, and from Iran and Afghanistan. We sit literally for hours watching the traffic in front of the shop, we socialize and enjoy food, drinks and pleasant conversation, and we wait for that next dealer to stop by and offer his pieces for sale. On a number of occasions we have assisted in the selection of what is purchased for resale. Selahaddin has asked that we stay on a number of evenings when we were preparing to leave because a dealer had phoned and indicated he would be by that evening, we’ve never been sorry we did! What an indelible imprint is left on your mind after looking through a stack of 75 or 100 kilims or 40 or 50 carpets from across the Middle East. The language of these pieces is universal, no matter what the person speaks or who the dealer is. New or old, Turkish, Iranian, Turkman, Afghan or whatever, carpets are one of kind art, art that is uniquely personal to the weaver, no uniformity in these fine treasures (master pieces for the floor). Oh yes, regional patterns are similar in color and motif, but no two pieces ever mirror each other.

The shop is small by commercial standards, 10 by 25 meters. The shop’s size is no indicator of price, quality, quantity of product or size of rug. The walls of the shop are lined six and eight deep with rolled carpets from a number of different countries in the region. The rolls are anywhere from 3 inches around to a foot, some are 3 feet tall others 10 and some are so large they must be folded side to side because the ceiling just isn’t high enough to take their height when they’re rolled. To the left as you enter is the work desk with computer terminal and a safe to the side for the capital from each transaction.

Opposite of the desk is a seating arrangement; two couch like benches adorned with carpets and carpet pillows are at right angles to one another. To compliment the two couches there are two wooden coffee (tea) tables set for eating and other pleasures. We’ve sit here to enjoy a good many meals over the last several years. I sometimes kid them about putting a restaurant sign over the door.

Beyond the seating area there are stacks of pieces, both carpet and kilim that have been set-aside for a customer to either pay on or further consider. Truth is; there’s no real need to set aside anything for payment purposes, you can simply leave with ANY piece in the shop and try it at home. A number of people who are interested in a piece selling for $2,000 or more prefer to leave them in the shop until they can pay most of the cost. Many folks too, really aren’t sure what they picked will set with them tomorrow or in a week so they prefer to set them aside so they can consider them or sleep on their decision. Selahaddin has NO quarrel with anyone who wants apiece put to the side for either reason. There are even pieces taken now that can be returned in a year or even longer, no questions asked. (It’s not standard practice however to take a piece and return it a year or more later). These treasures DO NOT lose their value; the fact is most will appreciate rather than depreciate.

The next series of stacks are kilims, some old, some very new. The next stack consists of those huge carpets that must be folded; they are usually folded in quarters, once in half, then once in half again the long way. Many are so long they too get folded from one end in order to get them laid in place. These carpets are generally ten, twelve or even fourteen square meters! They are most often Iranian or Afghani. The stack today has about twenty carpets laid one atop the other. We find these pieces very beautiful but highly impractical for any house we might own. One needn't be independently wealthy to own one of these pieces; one simply needs a large piece of real estate in order to put it down. As we continue down the wall we get to the corner, this is where the ‘money’ is; the corner is filled with silk carpets. They range in size from a ‘mouse pad’ to something 6 by 9 feet. They range in price from $100 to $15,000 with some (14 sq meters) even reaching $40,000. The great majority of these fine carpets are now from Iran; there are a few examples of Turkish carpets but very few.

On the back wall again stacked in front of the rolled Turkish carpets (most of which come from central Turkey) is a new variety of carpet, they’re called Gebbah; Nomadic Kurds in south central Iran make them. These pieces are quite thick and come in rainbow colors, most carry a plain field with a few figures now and then. They do not appeal to me but they happen to be very big sellers right now. They were intended as tent floors to prevent the cold from getting to you as you slept on the ground. They are truly soft and I certainly can see the utilitarian use for them in camping. They would probably make rocky ground totally comfortable or at least far more tolerable.

An evening in the shop is difficult to fully capture, there are simply far too many variables to unfold and highlight for you. However, a typical night will go something like this; we are sitting outside the shop socializing and someone walks up and asked one of the guys, do you have thus and such? They are immediately invited in to see what wonders lay in store for them in the shop, no pressure, simply look around as you wish. It takes little encouragement usually to get us to tag along; there is nothing more educational than watching someone else select and buy their carpets. It's educational because most people have done NO research, know little or nothing of the art they are about to unfold and they want something of impossible color and cheap.

OK, maybe not everyone, but there are many. Size and color are usually the first attributes requested because that will eliminate a number of regions of carpet right away. You also need to know whether the interest is in carpets or in kilims, this too will dictate the stack that gets an airing this evening. If there appears to be more than a passing interest in the search, the floor may become covered in carpets 4, 6 or even 8 deep. Many are put out for review and once the stock has been rolled or unfolded to the visual overload degree each piece is again rolled or folded to be put away, however as this is taking place individual piece are culled for a second and much more detailed review. As you can imagine this process goes on for hours. No matter how many times this is repeated we see new and different facets of the same design; many times even a carpet we’ve seen presented in the past will offer up new insight.

You will notice a border or a motif you simply did not take note of before. Often the light is cast in a new way and the piece speaks to you in a far different dialect. A carpet can be studied from the top, the bottom, from the sides or from either end, in order to fully appreciate a carpet you must view it from each prospective, not to mention in the fun sun. If you’re truly set on a piece it MUST be viewed in direct sunlight to appreciate the color at its truest tone. Should you turn the entire shop upside down and purchase nothing, no matter, you are graciously invited to return…maybe the next shipment holds one with your name on it. We call this “kismet”; it’s a great Arabic word-meaning fate or destiny. Should a piece be destined for you, you will have it; that’s just how it is.

I’m never more fascinated then when someone flips a corner on a carpet and runs their nails over the back. The books all talk about knots so logically people gravitate toward the back for that reason, however I don’t count knots! Certainly knots will tell you something of the quality and structure of the piece but more important in my judgment is “do you like the piece?” I would venture that 99.9% of those I watch turn up a corner CAN NOT tell me whether the piece is Turkish or Persian knotted. Turkish is a double loop knot and Persian is a single loop knot therefore logic says any carpet tied with a Persian knot is going to be much finer a design pattern than one tied with Turkish knots. Be very careful however, some of the finest carpets on the planet are Hereke silk, doubled knotted and exquisite pieces!

As we are talking knots, the material has a profound effect on pattern clarity. Knots are tied with wool, cotton and silk, looms are strung with those same materials. Vertical strings are called warps and horizontal strings are wefts, they go weft to wight you see, HaHaHa. So to further edify your understanding, a carpet tied with silk on a warp and weft of silk is going to be a very clear pattern (also quite expensive). If it is done well, that is knotted tightly, the carpet will offer a reverse mirror of its face on its backside, and the picture can be seen as clearly on the back as it is on the front. A very fine piece like this can be held between your eyes and the sun and it will give you an impression of very fine porcelain. Quality becomes crystal clear in these pieces because as the pattern deteriorates in clarity, the carpet likewise falls in quality. Talking about carpet structure could constitute a volume of material in itself so I will simply not go there. Just keep in mind a carpet can be wool tied on cotton, cotton tied on cotton, silk tied on cotton or any combination you choose to imagine.

Got off track there some but as you can see this is a subject I take some enjoyment from. The whole time carpets are being opened and returned to their places drinks are provided or food is provided, no charge, no pressure. The atmosphere in the shop is warm, comfortable, friendly and most of all hospitable. The sale of course is the objective but hospitality is never a casualty. The experience for all those who enter is one of learning because if you do not understand the handmade treasure being offered in this shop any rag rug will do you. To purchase a piece of this master artwork one must appreciate who tied it and where, under what circumstances, in what country. One must understand these treasures are not made in a day, they’re created one knot at a time over many weeks, months or even years depending on the piece. The Nomadic pieces for example are worked in the mountains and on the plains; their looms are erected and re-erected time and again as the families move from place to place. These pieces are my favorite; they possess great character, and I see the personal love and tremendous hardship that goes into each row of knots. I’ve seen the tents and the conditions under which these people live; it’s difficult for the average buyer to appreciate a carpet coming from these people. These carpets tend to be wider at one end than the other, they can be quite irregular as their lines are not always straight or they offer a color change half way through their main field; this is character that simply doesn’t come from factory carpets! These pieces too are quickly receding into history as fewer and fewer generations maintain the Nomadic Culture of the Middle East.

So, join us for a quiet evening or even a Saturday afternoon immersed in a cultural experience of a lifetime!