Turkish Carpet in Kusadasi

[leonardjan]

Hi there,

 

Anyone buy a carpet in Kusadasi?

[BigGuy25]

Yep ... bought a small one, for in front of the fireplace, during our visit in this past July.

[stunnedinva]

Hi there,

 

Anyone buy a carpet in Kusadasi?

 

Yes, I bought one a few years ago in the obligatory rug place the guide takes the group after the Ephesus tour. It's about 4' x 6', and they folded it up small enough to carry home in a carry-on bag. :)

[MercedMike]

We went prepared to buy a carpet, knew what we wanted and the price we wanted to pay. We had a lot of fun touring the carpet "factory", saw how silk is unwound from the cocoons, how both silk and wool carpets are woven, had some nice local snacks, toured their display of antique carpets, tapestries, and headresses -- and then settled down to serious bargaining! It is fun as they unroll carpet after carpet in front of you. My wife settled on the pattern and colors she wanted and then went to work. When we had the salesman sweating and running into the back room to check with his boss we figured that was where we wanted to be.

 

They had my wife write her initials on the back of the carpet, and promised to ship it home for no charge to arrive in about six weeks. A bit less time than that and it arrived in perfect condition. It has been on our living room floor for several years and we love it!

 

Did it cost a great deal less than it would have here? WELL -- probably not really very much. Did we have a great time buying it? YES, for sure!

 

Check out our trip report and pictures at http://www.bully4.us/holyland.html

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[Keith1010]

If you plan to purchase a carpet I would recommend that you be preapared to spend several hours at the store and that you do your homework so you are well prepared.

 

Keith

[Hlitner]

Totally agree with Keith. The Turks are fantastic entreprenaurs and are professional bargainers. They are also experts on carpets. In simple words, if you do not know what you are doing you will likely pay too much for an inferior carpet. Do your pre-trip homework so you know hot to spot quality and know what similar carpets cost at home or on the internet. Then go in some carpet shops (in Turkey) and have fun chatting, looking at the product, and bargaining. Our record for bargaining was when DW spent more then an hour buying a 2 foot square high quality carpet (used for a wall hanging) in Istanbul. During the procsss we had several cups of Tea and coffee, learned about every relative in the owners family, and probably overpaid but no longer cared since we had so much fun.

 

Hank

[BigGuy25]

I agree with the posts above. We had visited Kusadasi (and Ephesus) last year. So, this year, we stayed in town and I invested the time it takes to experience the process of purchasing a Turkish rug. It was great fun. After the bargaining was finished I ended up paying a bit more than 50% of the original asking price.

[zqvol]

Carpet buying can be great fun, and not a very time consuming experience depending on what you are looking for. If you want a full room size carpet, expect to spend well over $10,000 US and even a small 2 x 3 carpet is going to run over $300. The bigger the carpet the longer the buying experience.

 

The shops in the bazaar just off the port entrance are very nice. I would suggest beginning your adventure there and see where it leads.

[texancruzer]

Dh almost did.......had to drag him outta there !!!! The tour of the rug factory was very informative and we enjoyed it alot...... and the rugs they showed us were indeed gorgeous. They started with the Kilims (more rustic style) and worked their way up to the $$$$ ones :) Dh asked which one I liked and I picked one...... not to buy but I guess he had different idea...... so he began bargaining...... I had to stop him and walk out ...... while beautiful - just not my style (for my house) and he loves them !!!! In retrospect - it would have looked nice in my living room - guess I gotta go back ! We loved Turkey so wouldnt mind a bit ;)

[stunnedinva]

Carpet buying can be great fun, and not a very time consuming experience depending on what you are looking for. If you want a full room size carpet, expect to spend well over $10,000 US and even a small 2 x 3 carpet is going to run over $300. The bigger the carpet the longer the buying experience.

 

The shops in the bazaar just off the port entrance are very nice. I would suggest beginning your adventure there and see where it leads.

 

It depends on a lot of different factors, like materials (wool on cotton, all silk, etc.), knots per square inch, single knot, double knot--and a bazillion more details that the average American tourist hasn't studied. http://www.about-turkey.com/carpet/technique.htm

We kind of stumbled in blind and said "Oooooh--that's pretty!" and took it from there. The one I bought in Kusadasi is (theoretically) from Hereke, and I still love it 5 years after I bought it. :) But I strongly subscribe to this tourist-shopping axiom: see it, love it, buy it (within reason). You may not pass this way again.

[GreySkies]

My mother and I both bought carpets in Kusadasi last year. My mother let her "guilt" at having them pull out so many carpets get the best of her and felt obligated to buy one. *laugh*

 

While she was in one store, I went next door to a carpet place and saw a rug that would have worked beautifully with my color scheme at home if the whole thing had been the colors of a certain segment. (Navy and Burgundy) I explained this to the person, but he only pulled out red carpets. One of the other people came in to the store and tried to explain I wanted a carpet that was made up of just those two colors and an off-white. I was finally told they didn't have anything that was like that.

 

The next place was after we took a tour. I was just browsing around and started talking to one of the owners (?). I explained what I wanted, and was told that carpets would never be those colors completely, partly because of the way the wool is died. It was then suggested, because I also really enjoy geometric shapes to look at the "native" type of rugs. (The name of these escape me.) These were much more to my liking, and I finally found one that had navy with off-white for my living room. These rugs do not have pile like the carpets do. I think I paid around $300 including free shipping to the US, but I will only be brining it out when company comes so the animals do not ruin it. (Then again, I'm able to act like a naive college student when I need to. *grin*)

 

The best tips I can give are:

1. Go there with an idea of what you want.

2. Do a little bit of research to find out what the different types of rugs are and what they cost.

3. Don't be guilted into buying something you're not sure you want. (My mother had lots of buyer's remorse until she got it. I had buyer's remorse only because I realized I still had to pay for the animals' being boarded during my trip.)

4. When you see what you want and have that "That's the one!" feeling, start negotiating. Don't bother looking at others or you'll get confused.

5. Take photos of the area you are planning to put it in. This will help you determine if it'll match.

6. Take photos of the rug you do purchase. You'll want to show it to others before you have it back home.

7. If you have a difficult time understanding the people or the negotiations, ask the tour guide to help you.

8. Make sure you ask questions about the total price, shipping, etc, before leaving.

9. Make sure you get answers to the above questions before leaving. If you don't, walk away.

 

Sorry for the long post, but it takes me back to my trip. ;-) Hope this helps,

[TLCOhio]

Hi there, Anyone buy a carpet in Kusadasi?

 

Lots of good comments and suggestions have been shared. Here's my "two cents worth" on spending lots more money. It's really important to do your homework, in advance!!! This includes coming to Turkey with your sizes, a few small fabric samples brought along and checking pricing/quality at stores in your home area. The great news is that the better stores will BOTH explain lots of interesting and helpful info. BUT, they will have lots and lots of color and design options. It can get a little overwhelming. If you haven't brought along some size info and/or thought about it prior, you can get "lost" or confused, quick. We ended buying two smaller carpets in Istanbul, same design. My wife and I couldn't agree which color was best for a particular location. When they arrived, my color choice worked best there. We used the other one nearby and it's great to have those wonderful memories from our visit to Turkey.

 

Below is a picture from our carpet demo. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

 

Carpet demo was interesting and educational:

 

 

For more details, great visuals, etc., from our July 1-16 Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle Silver Cloud experiences:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923