We took a break from visiting the ruins after lunch to learn about carpet weaving. Turkish carpets are highly valued and heavily promoted, especially in Istanbul. If you are not careful, you will be invited into a shop by an over friendly owner, who speaks perfect British English, offered tea, and then given a hard-sale pitch. This has happened every time I’ve been in Istanbul, but we had yet to actually see carpets being made. Today was the day. We visited a small school when girls attend in the afternoons and summer months to learn the art of carpet making. The tour was informative, beginning with the extraction of silk, the designing of the pattern, and the tediousness of knotting the carpet, each double knot tied and trimmed by hand. I have yet to purchase a carpet, but I know that in the future one, or more, will find a place in our home.
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