Blog
7
SHIRAZ – JOHN DEVELOPS CARPET FEVER
Arriving in Shiraz
We fly south to Shiraz on Iran Air. Shiraz has a population of 1.5 million people and has a relaxed atmosphere. It has an excellent university (perhaps second in the country after the University of Tehran where Hossein is on the faculty). We check into a nicer hotel that has hot water to make coffee in the mornings and a larger bed.
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| Shiraz Carpet Store |
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| Tehran Carpet Store |
We fly south to Shiraz on Iran Air. Shiraz has a population of 1.5 million people and has a relaxed atmosphere. It has an excellent university (perhaps second in the country after the University of Tehran where Hossein is on the faculty). We check into a nicer hotel that has hot water to make coffee in the mornings and a larger bed.
We go out for lunch at once again a lovely place serving lamb kabob, fasenjon (chicken with walnut and pomegranate sauce) and mhormehsabzi mixed vegetables. I wonder if I am going to get tired of this food after a few more days even though lamb is one my favorite foods.
Carpet Museum
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| Tehran Carpet Museum |
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| Tehran Carpet Museum |
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| Natural Dyes ~ pomegranate, indigo, saffron, grapes |
Carpet weaving is an essential part of Persian culture and art. Rugs woven in towns are distinguished by their weaving techniques, traditional patterns, colors and traditions. It still plays a major part of the economy in Iran today with a revival of natural dyes and tribal patterns. Depending on the size of the carpet and the number of knots per inch it can take more than a year to complete a carpet. Health hazards for this include eyesight disorders due to inadequate lighting and eye strain. The average working life cycle of a highly skilled weaver is estimated to be 13 years. One study I read showed 63% of women had impaired vision. Risk of hand problems due to repetitive movement is also high.
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| Add caption |
I noticed that John and Skip developed their first symptoms of carpet fever as they commented on the beauty, design and colors of these carpets. Skip announced he wanted to purchase a carpet. I already knew that John wanted to buy a carpet prior to leaving Seattle because he had gone down to Pande Cameron to check out the prices. He had made measurements of where we had carpets at home and seemed ready to replace our kitchen, dining room and living room carpets, perhaps even the walls. I admit I am concerned about this because not only do I like our current carpets, but John is color blind and so is Skip. Moreover, I had seen John’s carpet fever symptoms previously when we were in a Jerusalem bazaar. There John bargained long and hard buying 3 tribal carpets that unfortunately he didn’t like when we saw them on our floors at home in Seattle. On the other hand, I did like them.
While Zanny, Skip and I are out touring Tehran
museums with our guide John visits a carpet store near our hotel. He comes back
with pictures of several rugs that he is eager to show me. He has refrained
from buying anything because a branch of the same store (run by the brother of
this man’s store) is in Shiraz and he has been told they have even more rugs. Therefore,
on our first day arriving in Shiraz we go to this carpet store.
We are greeted by the same man who John met in Tehran who tells John he has brought him one of the carpets he liked in the Tehran store. We are served tea and several men roll out dozens of rugs for viewing. I decide I like the geometric, tribal designs that seem less busy and less complex than the flowered designs which remind me of rugs in old lady’s homes. Zanny agrees with the old lady vision. John reminds me that I am an old lady now!
Skip is attracted to rugs with animals on them and especially one that has a picture of the tree of life (cypress tree). As we view rug after rug I begin to glaze over and have visions of our Jerusalem experience. Nonetheless it is fun to see John and Skip so excited, since typically John finds shopping deadly and avoids it whenever possible. Luckily the rug store owners are low key, positive and accepting and I don’t feel a lot of pressure. John tells them we are not buying a rug that day and are just looking. After 1-2 hours we leave and John and Skip have a few rug ideas in mind.
We are greeted by the same man who John met in Tehran who tells John he has brought him one of the carpets he liked in the Tehran store. We are served tea and several men roll out dozens of rugs for viewing. I decide I like the geometric, tribal designs that seem less busy and less complex than the flowered designs which remind me of rugs in old lady’s homes. Zanny agrees with the old lady vision. John reminds me that I am an old lady now!
Skip is attracted to rugs with animals on them and especially one that has a picture of the tree of life (cypress tree). As we view rug after rug I begin to glaze over and have visions of our Jerusalem experience. Nonetheless it is fun to see John and Skip so excited, since typically John finds shopping deadly and avoids it whenever possible. Luckily the rug store owners are low key, positive and accepting and I don’t feel a lot of pressure. John tells them we are not buying a rug that day and are just looking. After 1-2 hours we leave and John and Skip have a few rug ideas in mind.
Our third and last day in Shiraz we all head
back for the carpet store. This time John tells them that just Zanny and Skip
are looking for rugs and not ourselves.
Nonetheless the store owners don’t buy this ploy and split up their selling staff with one group serving Zanny and Skip while the same man who had previously
established a relationship with John serves us. He shows us rugs according to the colors and sizes that John has requested. Skip sees a rug that will go well in his study in Seattle and Zanny confirms the colors and supports his decision. They take the rug outside to see how it looks in sunlight.
I can see Skip is ready to buy and as I watch him negotiate the price I realize he needs John’s coaching in effective bartering skills.
However, John is distracted and still smitten by the original rug that he first loved in Tehran. While I like this rug a little I comment that it might be too orange and that I would prefer a rug that had some blue in it. However, John is on a mission to replace our living room rug that he dislikes because it is so worn out and too rose colored. On the other hand I have always liked this worn-out antique look and am especially fond of this rug because it came from my grandmother’s house. Different people with different tastes and I tell myself it is John’s turn to have the rug he wants. The rug dealer tells us that this red-orange rug is a brand new (not old), made of wool and silk, has only natural dyes and not chemical dyes, is hand woven not machine constructed and took years to make. He says, “it will last for decades”. As expected, John points out we won’t live that long so how long it will last is not a selling point. The rug dealer counters, “but it is an investment like gold”. Later in the day when we are in the bazaar I notice shop vendors telling foreigners that their products are natural, non chemical dyes and took days if not weeks or years to make ~this is clearly the typical sales narrative but also exhausting work.
John is about to offer a price for the orange-red
rug when we are shown a smaller old rug (80 years), with a blue color and
geometric tribal design. We are told it is very valuable and unique. “One of a kind.” Hmm.. I wonder if this clearly skilled
salesman knows I like older rugs and is trying to please me as well as
John. As they see the gleam in
both our eyes I am sure the price goes up. Yes we both like this rug but I
comment to John, “too bad it is not big
enough for the living room”. John replies, “it is perfect size for the kitchen.” Yikes there goes the current rug in our kitchen recently
received from my father’s house.
John begins the bargaining for both rugs which goes on in a happy,
cheerful fashion for about 30 minutes. Both John and the salesman seem to enjoy the process and come to
some mutual agreement. John pays
with Visa via a process that goes through Dubai and is told that there will be
no sales tax and the rugs will be delivered UPS to our house. I worry about
whether I will like them on our floors, especially the orange color. John says we won’t see that much with
the furniture on top of it!
I think we have finished carpet buying but arriving in Esfahan the first night John asks Amin to see another rug store. Carpet fever continues. Amin takes John and Skip to a nearby store while Zanny and I head for the bazaar. Everyone seems happy with this arrangement. Several hours later we meet up again and John has pictures of more rugs to show me and Skip has found some he is interested in. I am not enthusiastic but John seems eager. A little later I learn he has heard from the man at the Shiraz store who is sure he has found two more rugs that are the right size and color! The last night in Esfahan John asks me to look at 3 rugs he has picked out in the hotel store. They are cheaper than our other rugs so I ask the vendor if they are machine made. He is shocked and tells me that no Iranian rug is machine made!
Nonetheless the store owners don’t buy this ploy and split up their selling staff with one group serving Zanny and Skip while the same man who had previously
established a relationship with John serves us. He shows us rugs according to the colors and sizes that John has requested. Skip sees a rug that will go well in his study in Seattle and Zanny confirms the colors and supports his decision. They take the rug outside to see how it looks in sunlight.
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Add caption |
I can see Skip is ready to buy and as I watch him negotiate the price I realize he needs John’s coaching in effective bartering skills.
However, John is distracted and still smitten by the original rug that he first loved in Tehran. While I like this rug a little I comment that it might be too orange and that I would prefer a rug that had some blue in it. However, John is on a mission to replace our living room rug that he dislikes because it is so worn out and too rose colored. On the other hand I have always liked this worn-out antique look and am especially fond of this rug because it came from my grandmother’s house. Different people with different tastes and I tell myself it is John’s turn to have the rug he wants. The rug dealer tells us that this red-orange rug is a brand new (not old), made of wool and silk, has only natural dyes and not chemical dyes, is hand woven not machine constructed and took years to make. He says, “it will last for decades”. As expected, John points out we won’t live that long so how long it will last is not a selling point. The rug dealer counters, “but it is an investment like gold”. Later in the day when we are in the bazaar I notice shop vendors telling foreigners that their products are natural, non chemical dyes and took days if not weeks or years to make ~this is clearly the typical sales narrative but also exhausting work.
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| Market Seller Exhausted |
John is about to offer a price for the orange-red
rug when we are shown a smaller old rug (80 years), with a blue color and
geometric tribal design. We are told it is very valuable and unique. “One of a kind.” Hmm.. I wonder if this clearly skilled
salesman knows I like older rugs and is trying to please me as well as
John. As they see the gleam in
both our eyes I am sure the price goes up. Yes we both like this rug but I
comment to John, “too bad it is not big
enough for the living room”. John replies, “it is perfect size for the kitchen.” Yikes there goes the current rug in our kitchen recently
received from my father’s house. 
I think we have finished carpet buying but arriving in Esfahan the first night John asks Amin to see another rug store. Carpet fever continues. Amin takes John and Skip to a nearby store while Zanny and I head for the bazaar. Everyone seems happy with this arrangement. Several hours later we meet up again and John has pictures of more rugs to show me and Skip has found some he is interested in. I am not enthusiastic but John seems eager. A little later I learn he has heard from the man at the Shiraz store who is sure he has found two more rugs that are the right size and color! The last night in Esfahan John asks me to look at 3 rugs he has picked out in the hotel store. They are cheaper than our other rugs so I ask the vendor if they are machine made. He is shocked and tells me that no Iranian rug is machine made!
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| Fixing the edges of carpet |
We narrowly escape buying another rug because we are late for dinner but John asks the man to hold the rugs until the next day. Sure enough the next afternoon before leaving for the plane flight back to Tehran John tells me he wants to view a couple of rugs he has being held for him in a different store! Surely this is a sign of rug addiction or some psychological diagnoses. However, I enable his addiction and go to the store with him. The first rug John has picked out has all the right colors and I like it. But when I look closely at it and turn it over I find it has had 4-5 repairs and which are clearly evident on closer inspection. The salesman quickly takes it away and brings out other rugs but I am very suspicious and feel we have narrowly escaped another mistake. After viewing 5-6 more rugs we see another one that is tribal, old, the right colors and said to be antique and valuable. We look interested. However, looking closer I find a hole in the middle of it… John uses this as a reason for getting a better price. They bring in a man to repair the hole… but I am worried that John’s fever has taken over his judgment.
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| Tribal Rug |
A very amusing rugorama...can't wait to see the rugs in place...
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