Rugs in Cairo

[frisquito]

Does anyone have any experience purchasing a rug in Cairo? Our cruise goes to Turkey and Egypt but I've heard Turkey can be agressive and relatively expensive.

 

Thanks

[pacmom]

We just arrived home from a Nile River cruise. As part of the tour, we were taken to a rug factory. The rugs are made by children--age 7 on up til they are of marrying age. Supposedly they get 3 hours a day of reading and writing. There are about 40 such factories. The work os beautiful, but very expensive. There was a gentleman buying a silk rug---so beautiful. It was a 9x12---$15,000 US. Just be careful as with any purchases in Egypt. I personally thought the carpets in Turkey were more beautiful. Good luck. Travel safely and enjoy. Pat

[Venturagirl]

Hi, Pat,

 

I've been looking for your Nile cruise report on the River Cruises board. Any chance you will be posting one soon? Please??? ;)

[murphysmum]

;) Hello...I visited several of the schools in Egypt where the children were making beautiful rugs. However, when I was ready to purchase, I was shown a rather common and overpriced lot of rugs from Turkey and several other Middle-Eastern countries. The rugs "made by children" were often not available or vastly overpriced. I also noted a lot more pressure to buy than I did in Turkey.

 

I suggest doing a little investigation of prices of Turkish rugs before you go and then selecting there. Our intent was to buy one nice rug; we came home with over 20 various types of rugs, throws, etc....all good prices and quality.

 

Whatever you do, enjoy!!!

[MercedMike]

Like others who took Nile Cruises, we visited a carpet factory in Cairo. It was a very interesting tourist experience, but we had no intention whatsoever of buying a rug so we really didn't shop much. The rugs were certainly expensive -- several hundred dollars and up. But I guess that is reasonable for hand made carpets? There was some beautiful work, both in wool and silk. The sales people were not aggressive, but possibly that was because they figured no point in wasting time on us.

 

I guess it comes down to what kind of souvenir you can afford. We bought t-shirts and papyrus bookmarks.

 

;)

 

You can see a couple of our pics at

http://www.elite.net/~thehalls/egypt4.html

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[MercedMike]

Hi, Pat,

 

I've been looking for your Nile cruise report on the River Cruises board. Any chance you will be posting one soon? Please??? ;)

 

I'm not Pat, but we had a positively wonderful time on our Nile Cruise and tour of Egypt. Check out

http://www.elite.net/~thehalls/egyptmain.html

for our report and pictures. If you are considering one, DON'T MISS IT!

[ChefPeg]

;) Hello...I visited several of the schools in Egypt where the children were making beautiful rugs. However, when I was ready to purchase, I was shown a rather common and overpriced lot of rugs from Turkey and several other Middle-Eastern countries. The rugs "made by children" were often not available or vastly overpriced. I also noted a lot more pressure to buy than I did in Turkey.

 

I suggest doing a little investigation of prices of Turkish rugs before you go and then selecting there. Our intent was to buy one nice rug; we came home with over 20 various types of rugs, throws, etc....all good prices and quality.

 

Whatever you do, enjoy!!!

 

I leave next Friday for a cruise that stops in Turkey. Where, may I ask, did you purchase your 20 rugs? I bought a very large carpet(9 ft.) in the Carribbean and it was 1200.00! It's gorgeous and well worth it but i'd like a few more smaller rugs just not at that price.

[simonv]

I was taken to a rug factory in Egypt also, and was not impressed. Egypt doesn't have rug weaving tradition. It's a new industry while Turkey has the tradition going way back. Keep that in mind. In any books about Oriental rugs, you find a chapter in Turkish rugs, but not in Egyptian. The value will hold up better with Turkish, therefore a safer investment in my opinion.

[ChefPeg]

I was taken to a rug factory in Egypt also, and was not impressed. Egypt doesn't have rug weaving tradition. It's a new industry while Turkey has the tradition going way back. Keep that in mind. In any books about Oriental rugs, you find a chapter in Turkish rugs, but not in Egyptian. The value will hold up better with Turkish, therefore a safer investment in my opinion.

 

I didn't even know Egypt made rugs until I read it here. I agree Turkey knows rugs, they have years of tradition behind them. And they are beautiful too:) .

[murphysmum]

Hi!

 

In reply to your question, the 20 rugs were bought "along the way"...Istanbul, Kusadasi in Turkey and three from Rhodes.

 

In Istanbul our guide told us about a "salon" on the upper floor of the Kybele Hotel run by Mike, the owner. It's an amazing room full of treasures where we spent several hours drinking tea and enjoying a "treasure hunt".

 

We also bought a couple of items from Cisco Osman in the Grand Bazarr (any guide can show you his store). He's charming and has something special for every budget.

 

The Arista/Arrista (sp?) Bazarr had a fine small rug store and I actually liked this smaller shopping area as it wasn't as overwhelming as the Grand Bazarr and essentially had many of the same items.

 

Five or six stores down from the entrance to the Four Seasons on the left there is a great rug store...ask for Murat.

 

In Kusadasi, I really don't remember the name of the rug store but it was overpriced anyway....

 

If you happen to be cruising and stop in Rhodes, there is a very special, kind of upscale looking store in the central shopping area...In the back are more primitive rugs...really unique...from somewhere in central Turkey...It was the only store in town that sold them so another shop keeper could easily guide you.

 

We had everything shipped home with no problem at all and we're enjoying our eclectic selection of colors and styles. I hope this information is helpful to you. We felt that we were charged fair prices at all of the prices I've mentioned.

 

Enjoy your trip! We loved everthing about Turkey and plan to return this year.

 

Janed;)

[ChefPeg]

Hi!

 

In reply to your question, the 20 rugs were bought "along the way"...Istanbul, Kusadasi in Turkey and three from Rhodes.

 

In Istanbul our guide told us about a "salon" on the upper floor of the Kybele Hotel run by Mike, the owner. It's an amazing room full of treasures where we spent several hours drinking tea and enjoying a "treasure hunt".

 

We also bought a couple of items from Cisco Osman in the Grand Bazarr (any guide can show you his store). He's charming and has something special for every budget.

 

The Arista/Arrista (sp?) Bazarr had a fine small rug store and I actually liked this smaller shopping area as it wasn't as overwhelming as the Grand Bazarr and essentially had many of the same items.

 

Five or six stores down from the entrance to the Four Seasons on the left there is a great rug store...ask for Murat.

 

In Kusadasi, I really don't remember the name of the rug store but it was overpriced anyway....

 

If you happen to be cruising and stop in Rhodes, there is a very special, kind of upscale looking store in the central shopping area...In the back are more primitive rugs...really unique...from somewhere in central Turkey...It was the only store in town that sold them so another shop keeper could easily guide you.

 

We had everything shipped home with no problem at all and we're enjoying our eclectic selection of colors and styles. I hope this information is helpful to you. We felt that we were charged fair prices at all of the prices I've mentioned.

 

Enjoy your trip! We loved everthing about Turkey and plan to return this year.

 

Janed;)

 

Thank you for all this information. Yes, we are going to Rhodes also. I will look at the places you mentioned. Information like this makes the trip a little more exciting, if that was possible:p .

Peggy