Kusadasi...rugs??

[jlew]

We will be on the Celebrity Galaxy the 1st of June, and we stop in Kusadasi, and are possibly interested in purchasing a rug to be sent home. Anyone have any experience w/ the port here, or if this is even feasible?? Also, if you have had experience can you recommend a rug seller?? Plus I should mention we are taking the ship's excursion to Ephesus...etc. I don't even know if we will have time for shopping!

[deanlo]

Hi

We used a guy called Gursel in Kusadasi he was excellent gave us a great price and spoke great English and shipped a beautiful Turkish carpet to our home in the UK.Can dig the phone number and shop address out if you need it.

 

Deanlo

[susietb]

We bought a beautiful silk carpet when we stopped here. (The ship's tour was in the afternoon, so we spent the morning shopping). They shipped it to us in the USA. We love it. The name of the store is "ABRASH", Sagik Cad. No. 61. Tel: 0090 256 612 70 02. Be prepared to negotiate. After lots of apple tea, we settled at about half of the original asking price

[jlew]

Thanks to both of you who responded!! We will look for that rug guy, and if you can find the info. on the other one that would be terrific! Thanks so much!!!

[bfos]

Are the prices really that much better than here in the states? We will also be in Turkey in June and were wondering the same thing. Do you have to have cash or will a credit card be sufficient? Are the shopping areas by the port or in the city? Thanks for any info you can give.

[susietb]

The port is right next to the city. You can walk to everything (except to Ephesus). We didn't have enough cash to pay for the whole rug. We gave him what we had and then sent him a check for the balance when we got home. They will accept credit cards but you can negotiate a better price with cash. This is a very reputable store. As far as comparing prices at home, the rugs we saw in Turkey were really not available anywhere else.

 

Good Luck!

[carma7007]

I read on this board that someone had purchased a rug and liked it. It is toward the end of the pages.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=530883

[gentlemancruiser]

Are the prices really that much better than here in the states? We will also be in Turkey in June and were wondering the same thing. Do you have to have cash or will a credit card be sufficient? Are the shopping areas by the port or in the city? Thanks for any info you can give.

 

bfos - 2 years ago we looked at purchasing a rug in Istanbul. The prices are no better then any where else in the world. They only difference is that you get to haggle and drink apple tea!

Everyone on our tour who bought a rug talked about 'getting it for half the asking price' which sounds great, but when you work out the cost of the rug in north america you will find there is very little difference.

If you are serious about purchasing a rug, I'd suggest you do your research to make sure all of your efforts/$$$$ is for the better.

Visit local a carpet store that sell Turkish carpets. Use the internet, and try to find out as much as possible.

 

On a recent caribbean cruise on the Noordam they had a shop or room set up for selling turkish carpets, I never saw a single person buy one!!!! HAL has stopped the promotion, so I'm guess they weren't a big seller.

These rugs are incredibly expensive and beautiful, but you MUST do your research before you buy.

[bchbms]

We took a private tour to Ephesus on our cruise two years ago and I asked our guide to take us to a rug factory. They gave us a very informative tour, then took us to a room and showed us hundreds of rugs. It was quite a performance, and the tea and Turkish coffee were wonderful. We ended up buying a beautiful silk carpet that they shipped home to us about 3 weeks later. I had done research before we left home, and talked to a rug dealer here about what to look for, how much I should expect to pay, etc. We negotiated and I feel I got a reasonable deal, and probably could have done better if I had more time, but it doesn't matter. Every time I look at that beautiful rug, it reminds me of our once in a lifetime vacation!:) One thing I would recommend though is to take a picture of the rug before they pack it up just to make sure you are getting the same one when it arrives at your house.

[MVPinBoynton]

Mary,

Taking a picture is an excellent recommendation. Not only does it confirm that you get the right carpet, but it will be something to look at while you are waiting for it to arrive. You can also show it to friends to let them see what you are talking about. When we were going to the art auctions, we always took pics of what we purchased. We also take pics of the stores we buy jewelry in along with the salesman sometimes. It definitely helps, since memories forget quickly.

[psygist]

We purchased a beautiful rug in one of the nicer carpet stores in Kusadasi where we ended up after a cruise line sponsored tour of Ephesus. After viewing a presentation and drinking tea, a salesman helped us pick out a carpet in the showroom. There was only slight pressure to buy, at least compared to the experience in the Turkish bazaar where they are extremely aggressive.

 

We ended up paying about half of the initial asking price and, yes, we probably paid about what we would have paid for something similar back home. But the 4x6 carpet is proudly displayed on a wall in our home and viewing it provides us with a great memory of our outstanding cruise vacation.

They accepted a credit card and our negotiations were in US dollars.

 

They were able to roll up the carpet for us to hand carry home (it fit in a small special zip bag that they gave us), but in retrospect, we probably would have been better off having it shipped as it was rather heavy to carry.

 

Other posters above provided good suggestions. I would add that if you are intent on buying a carpet there, go to one of the finer stores with indoor showrooms, rather than dealing with the very aggressive sales people in the outdoor bazaar. But then again, browsing in the bazaar was a lot of fun. My favorite sign in the bazaar was for the knock-off Rolex watches that read:

"Genuine Fake Rolex Watches."

[steinsrich]

Thanks for the information and the tips

[Scarlotte]

Mary,

Taking a picture is an excellent recommendation. Not only does it confirm that you get the right carpet, but it will be something to look at while you are waiting for it to arrive. You can also show it to friends to let them see what you are talking about. When we were going to the art auctions, we always took pics of what we purchased. We also take pics of the stores we buy jewelry in along with the salesman sometimes. It definitely helps, since memories forget quickly.

 

We visited a carpet shop as part of the ship's tour. The gentleman demonstrating the carpets told the purchasers to sign the back of the rug. That way you are absolutely certain you get the carpet you purchased

[MVPinBoynton]

We visited a carpet shop as part of the ship's tour. The gentleman demonstrating the carpets told the purchasers to sign the back of the rug. That way you are absolutely certain you get the carpet you purchased

 

 

Now that is a good idea!

[steinsrich]

It certiainly is a great idea ,thanks

[Maxsboubie]

Great info. Can anyone give me an idea of costs ? If it is really a lot, then I'll just skip the tour. Thanks for the info.