No trip to Turkey would be complete without sitting through the spiel of a Turkish carpet salesman trying to sell you an authentic Turkish carpet. Add Bill Handel to the mix and its pure entertainment.This past June I spent four days in Istanbul prior to boarding Regent’s Seven Seas Navigator for a ten-day cruise through the Black Sea. Istanbul is a fabulous city. We, Bill and Marjorie Handel plus 35 of his friends and fans, visited several palaces, mosques, museums and markets during our four-day stay in Istanbul. On our second day in the city, Marjorie decided she “needed” a new carpet for the family room in the “Persian Palace.”
Finding carpet shops in Istanbul is easy; there’s one on every street corner. But if you’re not familiar with Turkish carpets, how do you know what you’re buying? We talked to our guide and the hotel concierge and were referred to a store near the Grand Bazaar.
Just like in my tour book, we were welcomed by the store’s owner, Sinan, and shown into a large, elegant showroom. We were offered a drink and asked about our trip to Turkey. He then asked where we were from and with a broad smile declared he has a brother living in Los Angeles and a cousin in Orange County (just like in the book!)
After our drinks were refreshed he then got down to business and asked if Marjorie and Bill had a preference in colors, size, patterns, etc. He then proceeded to give us crash course in Turkish Carpets 101: how carpets are made, the number of knots per square centimeter, old carpets vs. new carpets, natural dyes vs. chemical dyes, silk vs. wool, etc, etc. My head was spinning.Then the show begins. Out come the carpets. With great flourish carpets are unfurled before our eyes. Soon the floor is covered with a wide selection of carpets with rich shades of gold, blue and black in a variety of sizes. With a snap the carpets are turned and the colors change. Wow is all I can say. The “show” continues, measurements aretaken, phone calls are made. Finally two carpets are selected and now the fun really begins.
Kay and Tim Dobbertin joined in the search for just the right carpet for their home. Too many choices!
Price. Bargaining is a tradition in Turkey. It’s part of the culture. Americans bargain for houses and cars; Turks bargain for everything, especially valuable items like carpets, antiques, artwork, etc. Round one was about to begin. Refreshments were offered. Our glasses of apple tea were refilled.As I said, the price of a Turkish carpet depends on several factors. The number of knots per square centimeter is important, with more knots signifying a higher quality, and therefore a higher price. According to Sinan, the carpet Bill and Marjorie were eying had several hundred knots per square centimeter---a very good carpet.
Other factors that determine the price are age and demand. Usually the older a Turkish carpet is the greater the demand. This was a new carpet made by a family living in a small village near Antakya (Antioch) on the southern coast of Turkey.The material used is probably the most significant factor determining the price of a Turkish rug. A pure silk carpet is by far the most expensive, followed by wool or a mixture of silk and wool and cotton. The carpet Bill and Marjorie liked was silk and wool. Given the size of the carpet, approximately 11 feet by 16 feet, had the carpet been pure silk it could easily have cost $50,000. Bill was thrilled the carpet was not pure silk.
Also significant is the pattern and the types of dyes used on the carpet. The carpet they liked was all natural dyes in beautiful shades of gold, blue and black with a fairly intricate pattern---a truly beautiful carpet.
Now the bargaining becomes intense. Round two begins. The type of payment is important--cash gets a big discount, a credit card adds to the cost. Taking the carpet with you at the time of purchase does save on the shipping cost, but is often impractical if you’re on tour or the carpet is large. My handy guidebook cautions customers against shipping carpets for several reasons including dishonest or deceitful dealers. Those delivering the carpet will often try to sell you other carpets or your name gets on a list and door-to-door carpet salesman show up at your door every few months. This is why buying your carpet from a reputable dealer is so important, they have a reputation to uphold and depend on referrals for a major part of their business.
Three hours after walking into the showroom, Marjorie and Bill were the proud owners of a beautiful Turkish carpet.
Everyone left happy!
The Handels' carpet was delivered last week (shipping took approximately six weeks.) The gentlemen delivering the carpet (the owner’s son and their US sales rep) were very helpful. They moved furniture, rolled up the old carpet and unrolled the new carpet. They complimented Marjorie and Bill’s choice of carpet, but did comment that the other carpets in the room didn’t quite “go” with the new carpet. They had just come from a large show at the Pacific Design Center and just happened to have over 100 carpets still in their van. Would they like to see them? When I called to see how the carpet looked Bill was just writing a check for two more carpets--just like in the book!
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