Istanbul

[duquephart]

38 minutes ago, Azulann said:

Give me a couple of days and I will  talk to my friend  who now lives in AZ. It was her cousin who  lived in Istanbul  as a teacher and they bought  many rugs from this dealer. My other  source I will check out is my neighbor in my condo building. He is from Istanbul and in fact his parents are here visiting. I will also ask him  too for a name.  Stay tuned... 

BTW when is your  Viking cruise? 

 

I have heard good things about a couple of places but you know how that goes. I've also heard having a guide may help unless they just take you to their brother's shop. Lots of snares in this forest. We arrive Milan (pre cruise) 4/18 and embark Jupiter in Venice/Fusina 4/21. We've hired a guide from Sojourn Turkey for a full day in Istanbul the day before we disembark. Then Istanbul extension the second day of which is all free time to figure out our plan of attack. Thanks much!

[duquephart]

22 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

Guilty 

 

Our rug (I do love it)

 

Rugs galore

 

 

IMG_9874.mov 81.21 MB · 3 downloads  

 

 

 

Good looking rug from what I can see. Is the fringe sewn on?

[Kentishincanada]

We had three days in Istanbul independently prior to our last cruise.  We stayed in a friendly little hotel in old town and loved every minute,  We felt very safe and it is a city where I would love to return, with the exception of the new port and the walking involved.

 

We did buy a rug but in Kusadasi.  However, we looked in Grand Bazaar and another couple of rug stores around Istanbul but couldn’t find the colourings or size but had a baseline price before we found the one we bought.  Don’t know whether we had a ‘deal’ but love our rug and Turkey.

[duquephart]

Like the car pukes say: "If you're happy with the deal you got a good deal."

[OneSixtyToOne]

1 hour ago, duquephart said:

 

Good looking rug from what I can see. Is the fringe sewn on?

 

No, it’s all hand weaved by Kurdish weavers. We bought it during our excursion in Kuşadası when we visited a weaving exhibition at a shop. It was a government subsidized shop that employs graduates of a school that teaches weaving to Kurdish women to keep the skill alive. It is no commission so the sales pitch was low key. Absolutely no pressure to buy. There we learned the fringe indicates the type of material used. 
 

It’s a cotton base which then is hand knotted using a double knot technique with naturally dyed angora wool. The 100% wool rugs have a different fringe. Silk fringe is similar to the wool style but shimmers, is finer, and feels totally different.

 

I agree that you’ll get better deals in Kuşadası. At the demonstration store on the Viking excursion, they will also deliver to your door back in the USA. It’s included in the price. As a security measure, you sign the back of your rug to ensure the one you receive is the one you bought.
 

Cotton base fringe:

 

Wool fringe:

Edited January 27 by OneSixtyToOne

[duquephart]

My understanding is that the fringe is the warps. I've heard good things abut the place in Kuşadası - we get there before Istanbul.

[duquephart]

On 1/27/2024 at 8:18 AM, Azulann said:

Give me a couple of days and I will  talk to my friend  who now lives in AZ. It was her cousin who  lived in Istanbul  as a teacher and they bought  many rugs from this dealer. My other  source I will check out is my neighbor in my condo building. He is from Istanbul and in fact his parents are here visiting. I will also ask him  too for a name.  Stay tuned... 

BTW when is your  Viking cruise? 

 

Were you able to dig out the names of the dealers? Leaving in three days.

[Azulann]

4 hours ago, duquephart said:

Were you able to dig out the names of the dealers? Leaving in three days.

Just got email  from friend in AZ.  The name rug dealer  shop is 

Adnan&Hasan&Kilim Store. Can find it on Trip Advisor, with web site and lots of recommendations. I bought mine in the Grand Bazaar from the older gentleman. I had emailed him first. It is a small rug for use under my coffee table in my LR. 

 

Her is a picture of it at Christmas time. 

 

Edited April 15 by Azulann

[duquephart]

Thank you! What size is the one shown? Stunning!

[Kiwi Dreamer]

Nakkas Rug - Authentic Handmade Oriental Turkish Rugs and Carpets

 

This is where we brought our rug from.  Service was great with the obligatory tea, not pushy and packaged up for us to take home.

 

Love our rug.  Also the history lesson about the area was fantastic as well.

 

Well worth the time and money.

[Azulann]

1 hour ago, duquephart said:

Thank you! What size is the one shown? Stunning!

It is 5’7”x4’.

Have fun finding a rug for yourself in Istanbul. Have a great cruise and do post here if you have time 

Cheers!

Patti

[duquephart]

6 hours ago, Azulann said:

It is 5’7”x4’.

Have fun finding a rug for yourself in Istanbul. Have a great cruise and do post here if you have time 

Cheers!

Patti

 

Thanks! Now all I have to do is convince the other half that obtaining a rug is a good idea.

[bison2013]

On 12/4/2023 at 6:02 PM, LindaS272 said:

 On another DIY trip in Morocco a few years before, however, we went to a government-run/regulated rug demonstration where they gave us fair prices and we didn’t have to haggle. Bought three rugs which adorn our floors to this day—nearly 40 years later! So if it were me and I was interested in getting a “Turkey” carpet, I’d check it out. Personally not into the very high-pressured sales tactics in the bazaars!

Fully agree- the 'mandated' visits hosted by the Turkish govt coops are where we bought our beautiful rugs. Arrived on time via courier, lovely to look at and given the recent hardships of earthquakes etc in Turkey, we were happy to support this dying art form. And have a souvenir to pass on to our next generation of travelers. 

[OneSixtyToOne]

6 hours ago, duquephart said:

 

Thanks! Now all I have to do is convince the other half that obtaining a rug is a good idea.

Go to the coop demo on the Viking tour in Kuşadası. They put on quite a show and will do the convincing for you. Low pressure, good prices, and it’s delivered to your door. 

[BluebonnetTexan]

20 minutes ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

Go to the coop demo on the Viking tour in Kuşadası. They put on quite a show and will do the convincing for you. Low pressure, good prices, and it’s delivered to your door. 

I concur with @OneSixtyToOne. We weren’t on Viking, but went to the same coop. The tour of the factory and learning about the process was very interesting. We weren’t planning to buy either until we walked into the showroom demo and I saw all the rolled up rugs and as they were unrolling them I pointed to one further down and told my husband, “I just want to see that one”. When they finally got to it, I wished I hadn’t seen it! It was that amazing blue silk rug in the center of your picture. We were going to walk out and friends we were with told us that this really was one of the best places to get rugs and they were about to be repeat customers. So, we asked the price…as I crunched the numbers in my head and considered which credit card to put it on and how much did I really like it, they kept dropping the price. It got down to a number we couldn’t turn down given that things like this don’t normally get my attention like this rug did. It was delivered in the time frame they specified and looks great in our living room! I get to enjoy it every day and have no buyer’s remorse. 

[duquephart]

40 minutes ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

Go to the coop demo on the Viking tour in Kuşadası. They put on quite a show and will do the convincing for you. Low pressure, good prices, and it’s delivered to your door. 

 

We are booked on the "Wonders of the Ancient World" excursion. I wonder if that will include a "demonstration" in Kusadasi.

[BluebonnetTexan]

I don’t know for sure, but we got the impression it was a required stop by the Turkish government for cruise ship tours! 

[duquephart]

"Go to the coop demo on the Viking tour in Kuşadası."

Which tour is that?

I've read on other threads that tour guides get an attractive kick-back for delivering cruise tourists  (who often turn into buyers).

[OneSixtyToOne]

18 minutes ago, BluebonnetTexan said:

I concur with @OneSixtyToOne. We weren’t on Viking, but went to the same coop. The tour of the factory and learning about the process was very interesting. We weren’t planning to buy either until we walked into the showroom demo and I saw all the rolled up rugs and as they were unrolling them I pointed to one further down and told my husband, “I just want to see that one”. When they finally got to it, I wished I hadn’t seen it! It was that amazing blue silk rug in the center of your picture. We were going to walk out and friends we were with told us that this really was one of the best places to get rugs and they were about to be repeat customers. So, we asked the price…as I crunched the numbers in my head and considered which credit card to put it on and how much did I really like it, they kept dropping the price. It got down to a number we couldn’t turn down given that things like this don’t normally get my attention like this rug did. It was delivered in the time frame they specified and looks great in our living room! I get to enjoy it every day and have no buyer’s remorse. 

During the demo the salesman  explained the process of making that blue silk rug and how many hours it took to hand weave. He then asked “How much do you think it costs?” DW shouted “$70,000” to which the salesman said “If you pay that, I’ll personally deliver it to your house.” 😆

[duquephart]

7 minutes ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

During the demo the salesman  explained the process of making that blue silk rug and how many hours it took to hand weave. He then asked “How much do you think it costs?” DW shouted “$70,000” to which the salesman said “If you pay that, I’ll personally deliver it to your house.” 😆

 

You have to wonder if it's really machine made. How many have been sold?

[OneSixtyToOne]

5 minutes ago, duquephart said:

"Go to the coop demo on the Viking tour in Kuşadası."

Which tour is that?

I've read on other threads that tour guides get an attractive kick-back for delivering cruise tourists  (who often turn into buyers).

We visited the coop on our way back from Ephesus. The factory stores are literally across the street from the cruise terminal. Viking also provided a list of vendors that had been approved and included home delivery. We were told that the factory store employees do not work on commission. The government subsidizes the industry in order to train and employ the Kurds and keep the traditional hand weaving industry alive.

[OneSixtyToOne]

26 minutes ago, duquephart said:

 

You have to wonder if it's really machine made. How many have been sold?

At the coop they go into detail about the weaving and show you how to tell that it is hand weaved. The Kurds use a double knot technique and you can observe the process. The weavers attend a state run school to learn the technique. All the rugs have slight flaws and no two are 100% identical but do follow traditional tribal patterns. The wool is all Turkish Angora goat and dyed with natural, traditional dyes. If you purchase one, they have you sign the back and take a picture to ensure what is delivered is the rug you bought. We also have some machine weaved rugs at home and the difference is obvious when you know what to look for.

Edited April 15 by OneSixtyToOne

[OneSixtyToOne]

30 minutes ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

The wool is all Turkish Angora goat and dyed with natural, traditional dyes.

A clarification. Angora goats produce mohair, Angora wool is produced by rabbits.

[duquephart]

1 hour ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

We visited the coop on our way back from Ephesus. The factory stores are literally across the street from the cruise terminal. Viking also provided a list of vendors that had been approved and included home delivery. We were told that the factory store employees do not work on commission. The government subsidizes the industry in order to train and employ the Kurds and keep the traditional hand weaving industry alive.

 

Convenient. How did that happen? 😃