Textiles in Turkey
 

We'll be travellng to Turkey in early November and wanted to know if any handmade quilts are sold at the markets. Also, any recommendations for carpets?

Hi Bernice, I don't know about handmade quilts, but carpet advice I can share with you. We were there in June and bought 3 carpets, all over the country. First, if you buy a carpet while on a tour, any tour, you are going to pay more because the tour guide will be getting a finders fee, no matter what they say! If you buy early in the morning and are a first sale of the day, you may get a better price. They really want to do business. Most important, act like you can easily walk away, even if you are in love with a carpet-BARGAIN AND DO NOT SEEM EAGER! If you buy and ship the carpet home, write your name on the back of the carpet to assure you get what you bought. We bought from a store in Istanbul called Lapis, near but not in the Grand Bazaar. Very upscale and I'm very happy with all our carpets. The other 2 were both from a factory in Cappadocia and a sidewalk stand outside the underground city. You will not believe how gorgeous and varied they are. Happy shopping.

I bought a carpet on our trip to Turkey in June. If you think you may want to buy one, try to do a little shopping at home first. I live near Chicago so I was able to visit a few stores selling Oriental rugs. It is good to get an idea of price and what a carpet of similar quality would cost you at home. Mary is right about tour guides getting a commission, so try to do it on your own if you want to get the best price. I don't recall seeing any quilts at the markets, most things were woven. I saw a lot of Pashmina scarves at the markets at excellent prices. Have a great trip!

We will be in Turkey in October and want to buy 3 or 4 small carpets. Does anyone have any advice on how to get them home other than in our luggage? Thanks for the help.

Pam, <BR>Our carpet is approximately 6 X 9 feet, probably larger than the smaller carpets you plan on purchasing. The cost of our carpet included UPS shipping, it arrived the week after we returned home. There are UPS shippers all over Turkey, especially in areas where tourists may make purchases. Our tour guide advised us not to ship items from Turkey via their postal service as they are not part of the EEC, so charges might be high and shipping slow. <BR> <BR>Here is a url to the UPS locations in Turkey <BR>http://www.ups.com/europe/tr/using/s...englocate.html

This is for Pam, We bought 2 carpets that we were able to carry home. The carpet places have these little black bags with handles and zippers and they can fold the carpets up to an amazingly small size to fit into them. We also rolled one tightly that fit into a rolling duffel with our clothes and took up very little space.

Just want to say thanks for the info. on shipping carpets. And Bernice, good luck on finding quilts. We'll be back on Oct. 31st and if I see any quilts, I'll try to remember to e-mail you.

Bernice - I go every year to Turkey (my husband's family is there). I have never seen any handmade quilts (like the ones you can buy here in North America). Quilting is still a little bit new in Turkey, with women just doing it for their own homes, but not on any great scale. You will of course find carpets. You will also find table cloths and various other textile products. Table cloths tend to be very popular and cheap. you can buy them as is (machine made) or "handmade" (i.e. the fabric might not be handwoven, but the entire thing will have been put together by hand - these ones are often beige with gold or white embellishments. You can probably get a wider selection in Istanbul (i.e. the Grand Bazar), so watch for silks and other beautiful fabrics. Turkey is fairly well known in Europe for its textile products.

Here is my web page about Turkish Rugs <BR>www.safrancarpets.com <BR>Kerim

How good are the deals in Turkey for rugs?

The deals are as good as are your bargaining skills. <BR> <BR>Not really, just kidding.. <BR> <BR> If you buy from the bigger stores, or more reliable dealers, you can always get a discount, but the final price won't be much less than what was originally asked. Beware of customs, however. I don't know how much in merchandise the US customs allow you to bring into the country, but having the store shipping you a rug, or some rugs, you'll be likely paying heavy import taxes.