Buying a rug in Istanbul

Kilim Rug

I had no plans to buy a rug in Turkey. My house has one too many rugs and I had recently bought a jute rug for my living room. But a determined salesman persuaded me to look at the rugs his store offers. It was a very short walk from the Basilica Cistern where I happened to spend a couple of hours so I decided to go to with him to his store.

At the store they offered me hot tea served in tulip shaped glasses. I couldn’t even touch it as it was too hot to hold. Anyway, I was immediately distracted by a different salesman unfolding rugs before me. He asked me what type I wanted and I replied, “a peaceful one”. As you can see, none of these rugs are peaceful. They are fully covered with geometric or floral designs. The kilim rug above has cross symbols which protects against the evil eye while the running water symbol framing the edges of the rug represents life. This rug was my favorite of the lot.

Here’s another kilim rug but the colors are darker. You can still find the cross and running water patterns as well as the eye symbol which deflects evil-intentioned glances and negative energy.

Silk rug

This is a luxurious rug. It is rather large in size and would have to be shipped if I decided to buy it. The store can ship these rugs around the world. But I wasn’t attracted to the design. It’s too busy and the total opposite of the peaceful rug I had in mind though I had made it clear to the salespeople that I wasn’t planning to buy any rug.

Wool rug

Here’s a typical rug that I’ve often seen in major stores in the U.S. It has floral patterns and elegant vases adorn the four corners of the inner rectangle. Eyes peek from the center of the rug. The future owner will be well protected from malicious stares. This wool rug should fit well in villas and castles throughout Europe but not in my humble home.

While I left with no rug, I was happy to have learned a little bit about the different designs, materials, textures, symbolisms and the salesmanship of the staff. I communicated with them how the sales pitch can often turn off buyers from entering these stores or engaging with any of the salespeople. So they let me off to look at the rugs in “peace” and take photos of the various rugs sold at the store. I think I am better prepared to buy a new rug in the future should I ever need one.

*****

Images by TravelswithCharie

The Art of Carlos Botong Francisco - Progress of Medicine in the Philippines

Pre-colonial period Pag-unlad ng Panggagamot sa Pilipinas (The Progress of Medicine in the Philippines) is a group of four large-scale paintings depicting healing practices in the Philippines from pre-colonial times to the modern period. Carlos Botong Francisco was commissioned in 1953 by Dr. Agerico Sison who was then the director of Philippine General Hospital (PGH) together with Dr. Eduardo Quisumbing of the National Museum, Dr. Florentino Herrera, Jr. and Dr. Constantino Manahan. These oil on canvas paintings measure 2.92 meters in height and 2.76 meters in width (9.71 ft x 8.92 ft) and were displayed at the main entrance hall of PGH for over five decades. Owing to its location, the artworks were in a state of "severe deterioration" at the beginning of the 21st century from exposure to heat, humidity, dirt, dust, smoke, insect stains, grime, termites and an oxidized synthetic resin used in an earlier restoration. These canvases were restored three times, the last was

Filipino Struggles in History - Carlos Botong Francisco

In 1968, Antonio Villegas (then Mayor of Manila), commissioned Carlos "Botong" Francisco to paint the history of Manila for Manila City Hall. The series of large scale paintings was called Kasaysayan ng Maynila (History of Manila). The paintings deteriorated over time and no attempt was made to preserve these historical canvases until 2013 when Mayor Amado Lim sent them to the National Museum for extensive restoration. Four years later, in 2017, Mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada and the Manila City Council signed an agreement with the National Museum to leave the paintings at the museum so they may reach a larger audience in exchange for museum grade reproductions to replace the originals. Kasaysayan ng Maynila was later renamed Filipino Struggles in History and is now on display at the Senate Hall of the National Museum . Carlos "Botong" Francisco died in March 1969, a few months after completing the paintings. He is one of the first Filipino modernists and

8 Heritage Houses of Iloilo

Lizares Mansion The province of Iloilo on the island of Panay has a rich trove of heritage houses, left over from the sugar industry boom in the 19th century. Iloilo also had the largest port in the Philippines at that time which facilitated the export of sugar to foreign shores and deposited money in the hands of the sugar barons. The barons dropped their earnings into the acquisition of properties in Negros and the construction of beautiful homes in Iloilo, many of which are located in the vicinity of the Jaro Cathedral. The Lizares Mansion was built in 1937 by Don Emiliano Lizares for his wife, Concepcion Gamboa and five children. The family fled to safety when World War II broke out and the house was occupied by the Japanese military. The family returned to the house after the war but left once again after the demise of Don Emiliano. It was sold to the Dominican order in the 1960s and was converted in 1978 to a private school, Angelicum School. The mansion now houses the

TravelswithCharie

Search This Blog