Turkish Carpets

Istanpul has thousands of mosques, but it must have tens of thousands of carpet salesmen. Walking down the street, even with the "after" dressing look mentioned in an earlier post, I was a target of a number of people who wanted me to visit their carpet shops. Never did I say that I wanted to buy carpet, but even still many kept with a good pitch.

A typical encounter would have the person offering me directions, help, or asking about where I am from. Despite news reports to the contrary, Turks love America and all things American. Mind you the sample size for this opinion study is self-reporting carpet salesmen in Istanbul trying to lure Americans in to their stores.

Twice I entered stores and was exposed to the hard sale. In one instance I was offered apple tea and just a few minutes later a full lunch with lamb and rice. I learned a great deal about carpets and this man's life, although upon reflection, I don't know how much of what he said was really true. For example, many of the carpets looked like they were made with chemical dyes. He said all were natural dyes. In another example, he said that a smaller piece could be thrown into the washing machine. Yeah, right.

 [This is a picture of Sahir on the left and his father.  They are eating a pomegranate.  Sahir is a carpet salesman who tried valiantly to sell me a carpet.  Essentially he tried to ply me with food: pomegranate, apple tea, and lamb.]

In the end I found the street where the Cok family lives in Istanbul. When Oliver's dad Recep visited school back in May, he invited me to visit his place. The street is right near the major mosques and tourist attractions of the city. As I was walking down the street, a young man who works for Recep yelled out, "Patrick, Patrick." Apparently they had been expecting me to come this week and were on the lookout.

The Cok's business? Well carpets of course. I was great after a long afternoon to be treated as a friend from someone who really is a friend with a common bond. More apple tea, more offered food, no selling at all. Pictures of Oliver are all around the place. I received good reports about Oliver's experience at The George Washington University in Washington DC. We set a meal date for Friday evening.

 A central Asian costume inside the Cok store.