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Osman's carpet shop is one of the nicer ones I visited in Turkey. By this time I had been to quite a few, gaining a little more education in each one. I knew how to tell a new rug from an old one, a poorly made one from a well made one and an original piece from a factory produced "tourist" carpet. I had also learned how to get the rug-sellers to stop their usual sales-pitch tactics.
I watched as Simca selected a lovely, long silk runner for her home in Holland. I listened as she haggled over the price. It is always fun to listen to the haggling. Haggling is something I first experienced in Thailand and have grown used to in Oman. While some stores have "fixed prices" there are many with no prices marked at all. You simply ask how much something is and then scoff at the answer. Good naturedly. You then make a ridiculously low counter offer at which they get to scoff. Then the price will be lowered and you get to scoff again. It goes like that until you agree on a price. Simca was not much of a haggler so Osman made a good deal with her. Good for him, that is. But she was happy, so where's the harm?
Then it was my turn. For those of you who have never been to a carpet shop I'll tell you how it works. You enter the shop, they offer you a seat and a cup of tea. You give them an idea of what you are looking for and then they proceed to unroll carpet after carpet, setting aside ones you say you like into a "maybe" pile. Then they go back through the maybe pile and eliminate the ones you no longer like. When they get it down to one carpet the hard sell starts which is fine if you have found one you want to buy but in my case I had yet to find a carpet I loved enough to fork over my hard earned money for. This is the part where I usually then make my exit, thanking them for the tea and the effort.
After Simca left Osman started showing me carpet after carpet and we chatted all the while. I learned a great deal more about Turkish carpets from him. I'm afraid I am terribly picky and difficult to please. He had to unroll half of the carpets in the shop.
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Osman and I sat around the carpet shop for the better part of the day, chatting about everything and nothing, and laughing. I even helped him sell a couple of pieces. At lunch time, when I mentioned I was hungry and needed to go get something to eat, he sent one of his workers off to fetch pide, a turkish style pizza that is soooooooo much better than pizza. This one is mushroom, tomato and green chili. It comes with a little rocket (arugula) tomato salad which is simply wrapped in plastic wrap, no container. The lemon is to squeeze onto the salad.
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I had dinner with Erkan the CouchSurfer. He took me to a really beautiful European-style restaurant, overlooking the Temple of Artemis. We ate pasta, drank wine and talked about traveling and business. He has some interesting ideas for businesses in Selcuk which got me thinking. After dinner we went to his uncle's carpet shop and he gave me yet another lesson in carpets. He unrolled quite a few and there was a camel bag style carpet that I liked quite a bit.
On the way back to the pension I stopped into Osman's shop. We drank a bottle of wine together and talked into the night. Turkish wine is yummy! Very fruity.
Then it was off to bed with dreams of handsome Turkish men dancing in my head. If all men were as available and nice and handsome as the men I met in Turkey, I would never be without male company again. Wish I could import one or two to Oman- there is still a drought here.
4 comments:
Wow! Rugs are really fascinating. I can see quite a few food reasons for getting interested in that trade. Thanks for the lesson in haggling. I will attempt to remember this. I love it! And that food is beautiful! Miss Susan, we miss you on the Island. Keep having fun and don't forget to write home about all the adventures. It's great to cheer you on as you live life so fully!
Lots of Love,
Dory
Ok Sues. Lets see the rug!!!!!!!!!You do like to tease us don't you. Don't know where you got that trait from. Seems to me it is worth going to these countries just for the food. I am sure I would come home a two ton tessie if I were there. You know how I love food. Keep the days coming. Waiting for day 7 now. Love you lots and God bless you. Mom
HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUSAN!
Hope that it is a really goooood one!
Love you!
Jessica
Susan! I'm sorry to say I hadn't been keeping up with your blog, but I just read the rug tale ... Wow! I love all the insights you share, but I'm really impressed that you bring a digital camera with you and take photos (?) when appropriate - as in the takeout lunch! Nice going. I'l check back more often. Lance
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