Bakhtyari rugs and poppies of snowy mountains

A bakhtyari rug -  photos of this post are from some Bakhtyari rugs my parents have at home - I had to cut parts of them due privacy reasons and therefore odd margins - sorry for that.

Hey adorable rug lovers,

At winter, when Zogrous Mountain wears its beautiful white gown, nomadic people of Bakhtyari have their beautiful red and yellow rugs to remind them of spring.

A yalameh runner

Spring in that area of Iran, is a sacred season. After such a long and harsh winter, wild poppies and yellow buttercups grow everywhere on the slops of Zagrous. In this bewitching landscape, everything has a tale: every humming spring running aimlessly through rocks, every proud mountain peak, every bird, and even the flock of sheep breeding in those green slops. 

Ancient people of Bakhtyari have woven their amazingly warm and beautiful rugs for thousand of years. These rugs not only have kept them warm through ages but also reminded them of the warm and beautiful spring, of poppies and of buttercups. They weave their dreams into their rugs. What a nice way of preserving dreams! After all, no matter how cold and dark is winter, spring will come. (by the way, that is the main analogy used by our Persian parents to teach us hope)

Bakhtyaris have fluffy sheep (that is, good quality wool),  colorful wild flowers (and so natural vegetable dye),  imaginative people who have always needed to keep warm during winter, and an ancient history that goes back 7000 years. Mix it together and you get RUGS ! So there you go. 

Bakhtyari rugs are thick, colorful, VERY warm , and are known to be long lasting. Yalameh , a small village on the border of Bakhtyari makes very valuable rugs. Be mindful of some sellers (not all of course) that might sell you rugs with synthetic dye. I will write more on how to distinguish natural dye from synthetic dye.
Unlike city rugs, most nomadic rugs (not all), have no pre designed pattern. That make them more human even though they do not have the same artistic value as - lets say-  Isfahan rugs.

XO
Your Persian with love !

My Isfahan rug, and why I cherish it.

Hey cuties,

I know it is not a well taken photo but this is my beauty: Silk foundation, mixture of silk and wool pile. It has nearly 120 knots in each cm square. Signed by the artist Abbass Mansouri, a celebrated artist from Isfahan who combines traditional designs with modern motifs borrowed from ancient Persian art. I cannot say how much I LOVE his work.  My other favourit Persian rug artist from Isfahan is Davari.  

This rug is very nostalgic for me: the central medallion reminds me of those exotic blue china cups with flower design that my grandmother gave my mom. We used them for Norouz (Persian new year).
On the field (the blue background) I can see our garden, flowers, butterflies (see how many you could find), the beautiful pond we had in the garden with blue tiles, vine tree branches (just like our garden).  On its border I can traces of Persepolis, the ancient Persian capital I used to visit in summer with my family.   This rug "is" a piece of my home and my mother gave it to me so I can take a piece of our home with myself everywhere I go. 

I have one of the greatest mothers on the planet. She is an educated woman, a great educator (now retired) and the kindest human I have ever seen.  She loves books, good food, classic music, our Persian cat, my dad's black almond eyes (LOL), and of course Persian rugs. Not in any particular order! ;)

She is over 70 yr old but has one of the sharpest mind I have ever seen. She can repair everything from the dishwasher to the oven or even water pipes. She once decided to do kick boxing to encourage my little niece to exercise. You get the idea. Oh  and she cooks so well you would eat the food with the plate. She is my idol, my mother, my teacher, and my best friend.  She lives in the other side of the world and I miss her every second. 

One day, I was walking with her in Isfahan bazar.  I had saved for some time to buy an Isfahan rug and I was looking for something within my budget. We saw this great masterpiece but no way I could afford it (I could barely afford half of it). Long story short: she FORCED me to let her to pay for it. And finally I agreed that she pays for the amount that was outside my budget. So we brought this beauty home to dad's astonishment! :D

Mom suggested to find a name for it. We name things we love (we are a crazy family). Mom even names her flower pots. So we called my rug Fereshteh which means "angel" in Persian. 

The rug reminds me of mom. She is my REAL angel of course. It also reminds me of all of those strong and caring women who work many hours a day to weave Persian rugs. Majority of them have NO Persian rugs themselves but they weave them to support their family. They spend months or years bent over a large loom, knotting thousands or millions of threads. It is a very hard quest, but in doing so they bring a piece of heaven to our lives, maybe to remind us how art and love has no borders.

Speaking of love, Love is ancient, mysterious, beautiful and immortal - just like a Persian rug. So cherish your rug and what it means. Like I do. 

your Persian with love,

<3 

How to decorate your home after buying a Persian rug.

Hey adorable people,

I know I have been away for TOO long ! I just forgot to show up. I am a bit like that fish .. Dori ;)

You saved and saved and searched and searched. Finally you got that colorful wooly or silky piece of heaven: soft, colorful, sophisticated and enchanting. Now what ?

You need to rearrange your home to accommodate this beauty. Right? Here is my two cents :

1. Size: Your rug needs to be smaller than your room. Small enough so you can still see parts of the tiles (about 50 cm from each side, and maybe more). That is, covering your floor from wall to wall with a rug  is not a good idea. 
2. Color: Your rug does not need to match your furniture, curtain or wall paper. But it needs to create a good color compositions. It is like choosing the right colors for your dress. If you don't know about the color wheel , please look at this article.  
• There are some extra considerations though. For example, if you have yellow wall paper, you don't want a red rug, unless you are doing a commercial for McDonald's. 
• Never ever use a rug which matches exactly your tiles unless you want to conceal your rug from burgers. 
• There are lots of nomadic red rugs  from Yalameh (in Bakhtyari) or  Ghashghai (aka Qashghai, Qashqai).  Red rugs give lots of life to homes with light color furniture (white tiles etc). They go well with cream or caramel tiles too.  
• You gonna look at your rug a lot (I know you do , don't pretend you don't). So if you are the stressed type, you might want a green or blue rug. Central Iran (Kashan, Isfahan in particular) does lots of blue or green. Go for it. Matching green and blue with other colors is easy and they have a bit of edginess to them.
• If your babies, pets, or yourself are not toilet trained, don't buy rugs with white or cream background.  Lots of rugs from Nain have very light background (not all of them). 
3. Invest in buying some cool stuff: Turkish lamps, Persian miniatures, other handicrafts from Persia (Minakari, Khatam etc), rug stools, pottery , glasswork, box frame tables, antiques etc. It just gives your home an updated oriental look. 
4. Nomadic rugs, demand cool edgy decoration with lots of "thing-ish" things if you know what I mean. But city rugs demand a more elegant and classic look . More formal. I personally love nomadic rugs for bedrooms and city rugs for the living room. 
5. Lighting, lighting , lighting ! If you have a rug at home, you have a painting masterpiece. So get the lighting right. Some extra colored lamps could be nice for that mysterious oriental look when you have dinner guests. 
6. Go get a shoe rank and a door mat if you don't have one. Walking with dirty shoes on a Persian rug is ... sorry ... gross !
7. Over-sized furniture + a pretty Persian rug would look like an elephant in a kimono . Don't do it. It is not the size that matters. It is the proportion. I know what you just thought. You have a dirty mind. 
8. If you gonna place a coffee or dinning table over your rug, make sure you choose a thick colorful rug (nomadic rugs). It is not only because you want your rug to last longer but also because the rug should capture attention when it is mostly hidden under the furniture. 
9. Do not have too many rugs on your floor and on your walls unless you work in a Persian rug shop. If you need several rugs to cover a large room, that is absolutely ok but leave enough empty space between them. 
10. Try to go for simpler curtains. If your curtains have too much texture, a busy colorful Persian rug makes your home look like an oriental fortune teller's home with fizzy hair. You also might need a simple table cloth if you have a rug under the table. 
11. Runners are great things. They really make your corridor look great. Persians love them. Yalameh runners are just yummy and they have the same patterns as other Yalameh rugs. 
12. If you have an old aunt at home, don't use silk rugs. They are very slippery. Even if your aunt is rich, childless and grumpy, still make sure the rug is not slippery. 
13. Look at some Persian homes to see how they decorate their home. We Persians love having a well designed home (because for much of our history we have had to hide from our rulers). 

 Your Persian with LOVE <3

Isfahan

For travellers to enchanting Isfahan who might read my blog :

Hakim Big Bazar in Isfahan has lots of city and nomadic rugs . There is also a carpet bazar there- linking Shah Square (Naghshe Jahan square) to Hakim big bazar. Its one of the largest bazars ever to buy rugs. Its an old traditional bazar that has a roof and lots of cute old salesmen drinking tea constantly. Give them a hug for me! There are lots and lots of shops so walk around before making a choice and haggle. Don't show too excited !

If you go there eat Kabab as well with Sangak bread. Dizi (Abgoosht ) is Isfahani favourite too. Be careful not to pour Dizi over your new rug but if you did, there are really good rug repairs there .

After Dizi or Kabab , you will need either saffron ice cream or Faloodeh as dessert. Then you need a nap to be a true Isfahani ! You can have a nap on your rug!  Hah !

<3
XO

My adventures and my non expert opinion on machine made rugs

Hey lovely people who love Persian rugs!

Ok. Now I am all set to move to a new pretty country to live and work. My Persian rug got packed today in my suitcase. So I am good to go ! :)

Packing my rug, reminded me that I have not updated you for a long time... So here is my update (I will edit some other posts too):

My non expert opinion on machine made rugs:

Once when I was visiting Iran, a relative of mine wanted to buy a machine made rug. I happened to have lunch at their home when they were discussing where to buy a large machine made rug for their huge living room.

I told them "why you pay for a flooring which is "probably" made out of artificial/synthetic textile? It also has no soul in it? It is like an artificial flower. Buy a handmade rug instead!"

They said "how can we afford a 9 square meter handmade Persian rug in this economy only so little kids split ice cream on it ? It must cost a fortune. "

I said "the sad reality is that you can find handmade rugs at the same price as a machine made one. Of course , it will be corse,  might not have a unique design, and it is not going to be an artwork. 

Still it is made out of real wool, is more beautiful than a machine made rug. It has a soul (being handmade) and is safer for environment. More importantly you support that lovely mother who lives in a village and supports her kids by weaving rugs. 

Hand made rugs, if washed by professionals wont lose their pretty look- unless they have a very poor unnatural colour . But machine made rugs are very likely to look fifty after a few washes (my opinion not necessary a fact). "

So off we went to the bazar . We found a 9 square meter Nain rug (made in city of Nain near Isfahan and Kashan). It was slightly more expensive that the machine made rug they wanted to buy, but only slightly. 

It was very pretty though and felt very soft and thick. It was a great choice for a home with kids. It knot density was not very fine of course (maybe 200 knots per square inch). It is long lasting and durable and after several decades when it is of no use any more, it will NOT ended up as litter in our environment. They can sell it whenever they want without losing much value (unlike machine made rugs). 

Now years later, they have washed it 1-2 times and it still looks very good. And they keep thanking me for my bright idea :P 

Conclusion #1: if you do not have lots of money or have messy kids , you can still enjoy a pretty Persian rug. It does not need to be a master piece. 

Conclusion #2:  if you care about polar bears and all of those cute fish and penguins , maybe you would like to consider buying flooring that do NOT ended up as litter in our environment.

My opinion and not necessary a fact...

<3 

XO

My persian home

My most beloved parents gave me this lovely Isfahan Persian rug for my birthday long time ago when I was visiting them. I have it in my bedroom so I can look at it every morning when I open my eyes. It has silk foundation , with silk and kork (baby lamb's wool) pile. It has about 100 knots per square cm.

As I look at this beautiful piece of art, I think "to me" ( I am not generalising) there is nothing sweeter , lovelier and more fascinating than a persian home .

A persian home reminds me of pretty hand made rugs picked up by your loved ones for  memorable occasions,  persian handicrafts hanging or sitting everywhere, exotic smell of a persian kitchen , the irreplaceable privilege of having your caring loving persian parents, books of Hafez, Khayam and Ferdowsi, classic persian music in the air,  a small pound with blue mosaics  and the sight of a vine tree in a garden …

That is what this loving rug reminds me of:  HOME !

Look at it. It is all there .. I can even hear the birds.  I can see myself playing in the garden, making little boats with walnut shells and throwing them into the blue pound, eating unripe  grapes, and taking my dolls for a picnic  ..

If you study persian rugs (or any persian art for that matter - for example persian poetry), you immediately realise that being a persian, is not just a nationality. It is also a way of life,  a way of being, feeling, and seeing.

When you are from an ancient sophisticated culture , you are like an old tree, with thick long roots . No thing can ever unroot you even if you spend most of your life being away from your home !

I wish the world were able to see Persia beyond its sad days…

Thanks mom and dad for giving me a persian home and this persian rug is its picture. You gave me the knowledge, the love, and the bringing up so I can keep my persian home at heart. With that in heart, I am as good as a king.

****

By the way, if you are visiting Iran, visit Isfahan, go to the old Persian rug bazar (behind Naghshe Jahan Square) and just give your eyes a great pleasure (even if you cannot afford to buy any rug).

Hint #1:   Always haggle ! specially with my fellow cool Isfahanies!
Hint #2:   Always look at those rugs , sellers hang on their walls . They are often (not always) among the best they have.
Hint #3:   If the rug is course or it does not have silk foundation, there is a great likelihood that it is not from Isfahan but a nearby village for example Najaf Abad.
Hint #4:   Always ask the seller to write in the receipt that it is from Isfahan. Isfahan rugs are "among" the most expensive rugs you might find anywhere on the planet (per square meter).

Turkaman rug

Grandma was very kind and she had a Turkaman rug.

(Image is taken from http://www.oldcarpet.com/turkamen.htm, it looks very similar to Grandma's rug)

She had lovely white braid hair and always wore a tiny scarf- not to hide her hair for religious reasons, but to treat her age as a private matter: "I do not want people see my white hair" she said stubbornly. 

She had grey eyes , very fair skin, round face, sweat smile and the most lovely chin ever.

In summer, when roses and petunias in our garden grew, she used to wash the garden to cool the air. Then she used to spread her red Turkman rug on a platform.  I sat with her and we ate blackberries. She told me stories about her childhood and I told her about things I thought I would do when I grow up..

Any way, thats is what Turkaman rugs remind me: Grandma and her kindness.

Turkoman rugs are made by nomadic weavers of many different countries. They include Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and the province of Khorassan in northeast Iran(Persia). Of course weaving techniques in these areas  might be different. But they all have dominant red background color, geometric flowers (octagonal motif known as Gul=flower). 

They bring life and warmth to your home but sadly not all of them are of good quality. So buy them from a reputable dealer. 

I really like them and I am sure I gonna buy one of them to celebrate Granma's memories.

XXXOOO

Me

Where to buy rugs?

Well, I cannot and will not suggest a shop or website here. But very often, friends and relatives ask me where to buy a "good" rug !

My answer is


1- I know it is not always possible but if you can, try to ask someone who knows about rugs to help you. You might have a friend or relative that knows about rugs.

2- If it is a really really expensive rug, ask for an appraisal from a qualified honest appraiser. 

3- ALWAYS, ask for a certificate or at least a receipt that gives a description of the rug: its size, city it is made (its origin in fact), age, pattern, design, name of the workshop it is made (if it is known),  its condition, the price you have paid. 

4- ALWAYS inspect the rug, make sure it is clean, it is a symmetrical/accurate rectangle, the patterns are symmetrical (if they are supposed to be), watch out for damages(i.e. stains and wear), the edges are healthy. 

5- ALWAYS shop around. I know it is very tempting but never ever buy the first rug you like right away without researching about it- well unless if you are an expert (in that case you wont read my blog ). Look at it in this way: you might believe in love in first sight but you wont do IT on your first date. Right? Well unless you are an expert ;)

You also can search internet and find rugs with the same quality, style, signature in your own country so that you have a rough estimate.

6-  Discuss return options and make sure it is written in the receipt.

7- Buy the rug you really love. No , loving it is not enough ! You should be in love with it. You must feel a connection to it. OK? It is not fair to a rug if you just find it suitable but there is no love ;) 

xoxo
Me

How to clean a Persian rug?

A few days ago, I was talking to mom and she said they had sent a number of rugs to a rug cleaning shop to be cleaned for Nowrouz. Knowing, how my cute mother loves her rugs , I was frightened. I asked if they researched about that shop and if they asked expert advise on which place provides the most reliable service. She answered that yes she had talked to an expert and that is how she was referred to that shop. But she called the shop again and made sure they do their best..

So that reminded me ooops I forgot tell you about cleaning your rugs.

Look all I have to say is :

1) Read this very good link but ONLY for emergencies when there is a stain..
http://www.rugs-oriental.net/cleaning-persian-rugs.html.

The above link says "The longer a stain remains in the fabric of your Persian rug, the harder it becomes to remove. Scoop up solid material with a spatula or a spoon. Absorb any excess liquid with a clean, white, absorbent cloth, towel or paper towel. To prevent spreading a stain, work from the outside edge of the stain toward its centre."

Read the rest yourself. It is a very good webpage and the above quote was from it (www.rugs-oriental.net).

2) If you want to wash the stain yourself, always make sure that the dye is stable and can be washed. You can try a small corner first, if the rug is not a very expensive one. Good quality rugs always have natural and stable die.  But ALWAYS test.

3) Always ask expert advice. Handmade rugs are not like machine made rugs and carpet. You cannot use the same methods to clean them. If you have a painting at home and it damages, do you borrow your kid's colour pencil and amend it yourself? So shop around , ask experts, seek guarantees and ask them how exactly they gonna clean it and what material they use…

4) Never ever wash very expensive rugs yourself, except those measures you must take in emergency (step 1).

5) Always keep a white cotton towel around- in case of an accident. Read about it before an accident.

6) If it is not an emergency, please do NOT do it yourself. Cleaning handmade rugs is a speciality itself.


By the way, my mother's rug did not have a stain. They were used in common areas (living room , corridors etc) so they needed to actively participate in Spring Cleaning. You must see Iran before Nowrouz, when people wash their rugs themselves (I know what you just thought) and hang it over balcony to get dried…  So pretty.. It is a very magical scene …

XOXO

Why I love Persian rugs?

I was busy doing uninteresting things so I have not updated this weblog for ages...

I travel a lot and I live in the West (here and there) and I do love it. I never feel homesick for my beautiful beloved Iran. Never! Because, I have never left Iran! I kept it in my heart. How can you miss something you keep so closely to your heart? But I admit my eyes miss the magical beauty of Persia.

You know what I do when my eyes misses that magical beauty? I open the cover where I keep my little Isfahan Persian rug (a present from my most wonderful mother) and I look at it for hours while listening to Persian classic music, heavenly voice of Shajarian.  The magic of my rug and the beauty of that music takes me to far away lands, to Naghshe Jahan Square, the second largest square in the world and I dare to say the most beautiful one.

In Isfahan, I always felt hungry, not for food (oh well ...) but for watching, smelling, listening, living, and for being. In Isfahan, I was anxious all the time, simply because I did not know what to watch and how to absorb so much immortal beauty with my mortal eyes.

That is why I love Persian rugs. They transform me easily from this world to wherever I want to be. There is something enchanting to them. They cast a magical spell on you so you cannot keep your eyes off them. They transform you to a Persian village where they were made, to the warmth of a villager 's home, to the purity of the women who made them, and to the liveliness of the children who grow up with them while they were being made. They tell you all sort of stories but in a very abstract visual form.

It is a dry hot summer in central Iran, and villagers long for rain with tired eyes? They weave a blue Persian rug, so blue with which no sea could ever compete. Persian blue!

Is it so cold and freezing in snowy mountains of western Iran? They weave a rug in red, orange and yellow as warm as the warmest fire ever.

Want something more intellectual? Isfahan, once the largest metropolitan in the world, lends its sophistication and intellect to its rugs. Isfahan was home to many of greatest mathematicians, scientists and philosophers of the ancient world for years. Every motif on those rugs has a philosophical meaning. Those fractal shapes have lots of nice mathematical properties(Ok I am a nerd and I know it). I look at my Isfahan rug and I let it transform me to a simply different world.

Isfahan rugs are full of colours, like shops in Isfahan Bazar, saffron ice cream with pistachio, colourful spice stalls, handicraft stalls, exotic food and magnificent ancient buildings decorated with colourful ceramics. Isfahan is full of surprises. You can never predict what you are going to see...

Tabriz, Mashhad, Kashan, Kerman and every city or every village in Iran have their own Persian rug style which tells stories about their history, culture, environment, nature, dreams, past and present.

If I am to pick up one thing that fully and perfectly manifest Persian culture, I would chose Persian rugs. It is fair to say that Rugs are not furnitures. They are livings. They have a soul. They preserve the soul of the people who made them. More than that, they share it with you generously and unconditionally. I feel their generous soul when I touch my rugs. I can feel it with all my heart and I let to enchant me.

So I guess I told you why I love Persian rugs. If you have your own collection or you are to start having it, remember they are "livings" so treat them with respect.

I promise that next time I tell you more about how to buy a carpet, some thing more technical. But I needed to tell you why rugs matter so much ! Right? ;)

XOXOXO