September 11, 1996

Rug shopping was inevitable. We'd already learned about kilims and sumaks while in Goreme, now we were ready. We saw some beautiful ones in Urgup. They were hanging outside, inside, over every inch of shop space. Funny how the first shop we walked into was the very best. "It is good you came here first," the shop owner said. "I have the best selection in town. I handpick each rug for quality." His rugs were nice, but so were the ones in the second shop we walked into, and the third. Had one of those been our first choice, they would have been the best too.

We looked at hundred of sumaks. On sumaks the yarn is wrapped around each two warp strings. Kilims ar traditional flat weaves where the yarn is pulled over and under the warp strings. Silk on cotton, silk and wool on cotton, on wool, wool on wool; we finally narrowed our choices to two. With the help of Hana and Craig and Fargo we picked the winner - a 35-45 year old sumak made by the nomads of Iran. The rug had been made for a dowry and the small symbol in the lower right, we were told, was the mark of the tribe.

The two men who sold us the rug were great. We shared apple tea with them (naturally) and learned that they had grown up in one of the fairy chimneys in the area. We even heard them sing their family song. One of them was a photographer who proudly showed us a brochure which featured his work. "Come back next year," they told us. "Send your friends." Well, maybe not next year, but perhaps one day.