On my cruise in 2013 to Istanbul, Turkey, I was on a day tour to Ephesus to see the ruins. Along the way the tour guide makes us stop at a Turkish Carpet store, supposedly to just see how these quality carpets are made. Yea, right! We entered the show room area which was just loaded with rugs, obviously for sale. They make them from silk, wool, or wool/cotton blend.
We get the full tour and rundown of the rug making process, which was actually quite interesting. I found this short video on the internet that captures the process quite
This seems to the very similar or even the place that we visited near Ephesus! I have a few photos that I took as a part of my experience.
So after the free demonstration and then the free beverages, it is the sales pressure time! They lay out dozens of carpets to try to entice you to buy the one that you cannot just leave without. I am there for 30 minutes saying, no, No, nO, and NO……….but they keep pushing you along. Finally, they find one that I just cannot say NO to, and I am hooked! Now comes the price negotiating part and you simply do the best you can and what you budget allows. Of course anything you buy can be shipped from Turkey worldwide, for a fee. I already spent too much and I did not buy one too large, probably about 4×8 feet and amazingly they could fold that whole carpet into a small package. The carrying bag is included and you have yourself a Wool Turkish Carpet in the size of about 12 inches x 12 inches x 8 inches. But it is just as heavy as the whole carpet would be, so I am lugging this extra package all the way back to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
Believe it or not, 7 years later the carpet is still in great shape and I finally had it dry cleaned last year. It looks as good as new again and it lies under my dining room table in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico! So, if you financially capable and want a quality lifetime rug, go for it!
