Yesterday the high school sunshine committee organized an outing to the Christmas Bazaar and the Heritage Souk. The sunshine committee puts together outings throughout the year, and you can sign up to attend or not. I decided to attend. I was really hoping to find a couple of cute snowmen. While I found a few snowmen, they were far from cute (can you say tacky?). However, I did find some gorgeous hand-blown glass ornaments, hand-painted pine stars, some real pashminas, and a poinsettia. I now have a little piece of MN Christmas here in the desert. Grandma Johnson always used to have a poinsettia at Christmas, and I try to remember to get one every year. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. For 2.5 KD it was a great deal and it reminds me of home, so I have one this year!
We were only at the bazaar for about an hour and a half. I could have spent more time there, however I would have also spent a lot more money. It was a good compromise! That, and I was hungry. We boarded the bus and headed off to the Heritage Souk. I’ve now been there 3 times in a little over a week. I enjoy it a little more each time.
When we got there we went to a little vegetarian Indian restaurant. Oh holy deliciousness! The Friday special was 1.5 KD and it included all the bread you could eat. I think I ate my weight in bread…SO good!
It may not look like a lot, but it was! Plus they kept bringing us more bread and offering to re-fill the curry dishes.
After lunch some of the girls wanted to go and look at carpets (rugs in various sizes). I went along because I only wanted to pick up a few more of the cheaper pashminas. This week I learned where to go if you want to buy a good carpet (rug) and not get swindled.
This is Hussein. He is extremely knowledgeable!
We followed a fellow teacher’s directions, and left the restaurant, took a right, walked into a dingy alley, then into the first store on the right, then up the stairs.
On the way up the stairs I said I felt like I was breaking and entering. Apparently Hussein is very choosy about his customers. We thought we were going there to look at carpets and get some price ideas. We did that, but we also got a cultural lesson and a snippet of a lesson on how to tell if a carpet is real or fake.
Real!
Real!
Hussein had us sit down on carpets that were in stacks around the store. Then he began to tell stories. For instance, one carpet had been in a family’s home. You could tell it had been used. You could tell the age of the person who had made it (a young girl) because the pattern wasn’t exact throughout the borders. Some of the areas were smaller. You can also tell if the person is right or left-handed on some of them, depending on the symmetry of the rug. This particular rug had different ends (or fringe). On one side it was neat and looped over. This is the end that would have been facing the door, as more traffic would have come from that way, as well as the dust. The other end had the longer fringe. On one side towards the end, there were 3 braids. The rug maker will sometimes make a wish while making the rug, and they put them into the braids. When the owner undoes the braids, their wish will come true.
The carpet I was just describing.
Another rug was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. It was made of silk and the details were beyond amazing (and I didn’t bring my camera – DRAT - thank goodness for the others!). I said if I had a rug like that I would hang it and never let anyone walk on it. Hussein said good, because he wouldn’t sell it to anyone who was going to put it on the floor. Guess how much it cost! Over $3,500. Seriously.
Most of the time they pay the worker based on the number of stitches made in the rug. Not always. Some rugs will take over 8 months to make. The handmade ones have a history to them. I saw some beautiful rugs. Amazingly beautiful rugs. I sense a savings plan in my future so I can get some. Of course I’m dreaming of the really expensive one. I even know how much I would have to save to buy it. Of course, it will take me over a year, but oh would it be worth it!
My current dream carpet! This picture does not do this carpet justice. The details!
Did you know that wool from the neck of a lamb is softer than the rest of it? You do now! I can promise you that it feels different!
Hussein demonstrating how to make a carpet. This one is for his daughter's birthday (that has already passed - life happens you know!). He said there were already 40,000 stitches in this!
He also said that the mistakes were what make them unique. They will also help a novice like me learn to tell a real from a fake!
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