Salmiya

Kurds are not only living in Turkey, Iraq, Syria, and northwestern Iran. Shah Abbas I (d. 1629) had moved about 15’000 Kurds to the northeastern borders of Khorasan as protection against Uzbek and Turkoman invasions. As their folks in Kurdistan, these so-called Kordish people in northeastern Iran weave pile carpets, kilims and soumaks. The colorful carpets show typical geometric designs displaying octagons, hooked squares, and a star design, called naqsh-e setare (not in this piece), and knots are symmetric. So, it is no surprise to see characteristic colorful rugs and flat weaves of Kurds for example in the carpet bazaar in Mashhad. The kilim here (59 cm x 145 cm) is a nice example indicating different techniques of flat weave. When bought a couple of years ago, it was new. Four intensively orange major bands are separated by colorful stripes displaying arrow heads. They themselves are bordered by narrow black stripes with various, very delicate patterns of vines, zigzag bands, squar...

Our ultimate internet carpet expert, Barry O’Connell, has informed us lately that the great bazaar of Tabriz is eventually being registered as a global heritage site. I visited Tabriz a couple of weeks after the presidential elections in the hot summer of 2005. The bazaar is very similar to others in the region, although definitely larger. Its entrance is at the Masjed-e Jomeh, a mosque dating back to the Seljuqs but has been restored in later centuries. As usual in Iran’s busy bazaars, you will quickly get lost in the labyrinthine ‘guts’ of the city. The 35 km of covered bazaar often sports brick-vaulted passages and small caravanserais. There are special areas for carpet sales and sooner or later you may end up there with chay and discussions. A young carpet dealer, Alireza, who had a small shop in the main bazaar, wanted to introduce me to his, say, in a way godfather, Mr. Dawoud, a real gentleman, as he told me, who helped him to establish his small business and educated him as a...