The ı's Have It

Friday June 18

Reader’s note: for the past two days our group has been cruising the Mediterrean and finding secluded coves to anchor. Our home has been one of two gullets. These are magnificent 80-90’ sailing boats, probably unrecognizable from their prior form. We have used the iron sail more often than not, which is an option previously not available. The days have been full of lounging, reading, and swimming in the crystal clear, topaz water. Brisk even in the hot sun, very refreshing. True, some took a hearty hike of some two hours, but by in large this has been time to chill. There are several consequences of this stage of the trip: more naps, expanding girth, and less writing. No contact with the outside world since there is no wi- fi. It has not been missed. Today I was to go back to a couple of prior events, starting with a tour Thursday morning.

·        Impulse – An unplanned action, an immediate response to a situation

·        Intuition – A sense of a situation or outcome, based loosely on prior experience

·        Instinct – A tendency to act in a certain way

If asked, I would define the above words in that manner.

Our Thursday started with a sumptuous breakfast spread at the hotel, including honey in the comb. Good thing we are going to the gullets, since these big breakfast are unsustainable.

A quick drive from Izmir brought us to a modern collection of buildings with red tile roofs. This was the location of a rug manufacturing facility. It seems the government, like those of so many other developing countries saw the problems incumbent with the migration of young rurals who moved to the big cities for a new life. More demands on already heavily used city infrastructure, a movement from “old” industries, etc. To stem that tide the government offered certain tax incentives for those who developed facilities for these industries. Two examples were leather working and rug making. Why didn’t we go to the leather facility? Our guide is a capitalist, responded to government tax credits and a perceived opportunity, and started the business 25 years ago.

For an interesting hour we learned a lot about Turkey and its rug business. We learned and observed the making of these fine rugs. We watched young women follow a computer generated pattern and translate that into rugs by double tying wool or silk strings to tightly drawn lengths of either silk, cotton or wool. That double knot is a simple looping of the strand, it takes no skill. However, what does take incredible ability is following a pattern you see, and translating that into the rug. Silk backing is only used with silk weave, while wool weave is used with either cotton or wool. Once a row is completed it is tamped down with a heavy weight and then cut with scissors (wool) or a small knife (silk) to produce a constant pile.

At the start of the process, we watched as workers teased silk strands from soaking cocoons, then merged to form lines of a half dozen strands. Then we went to the dye section where natural materials were used to make needed colors. For some reason silk uses only synthetic coloring, while wool is natural. It all was so logical and interesting.

We then walked into one of the 10 or so grand halls, which featured dozens of rolled rugs, comfortable benches around the perimeter, and our host/tour guide/pitch man John. The transformation of his role was incredible. What we watched and heard for the next 30 minutes lead each of us to conclude, John could not only sell ice to the Eskimos, he could also sell then sun tan lotion in the dead of winter.

Before the show started he explained about the Turkish custom of shopkeepers offering their customers coffee, tea or refreshments. He offered a wide range of choices, including raki. This anise tasting drink is the Turkish equivalent of Ouzo, Grappa, or jet fuel. He said it was 45% alcohol, but who’s counting?

He started by talking about what a bad reputation most rug sales people have, equating them to used car salesmen. He then talked about how little most people know about rugs, excluding our most sophisticated, like Shila. I remember clearly seeing the floor was clear. I also noted several guys standing around. As John rolled us into his grip, these guys unrolled the carpets. But that doesn’t begin to do the process justice. He would explain about one type of carpet or another, and then with a quick Turkish phrase, his assistants would simultaneously roll out examples, each ending exactly at the feet of the prey. Ron Popuil would be jealous with this drama.

First came course “native” rugs, which looked fine to me. These were explained to be only 20 knots per square inch. That seemed like a lot to me. Shapes were rough, edges were raged, I admit. I came to understand, this was the white bread.

I can only think of D Day as having more waves of whatever, than our class in rugs. Soon, the floor could not be seen, and we were only at the 200 knots per square inch level. I get it. I am not a good judge of art, but even I could see as the knot count went up so did the vividness of the pattern, the crispness of the edges, and even I figured out, the price.

I remember tuning back into the pitch when we were in the “getting fancier” phase. Somehow John had us convinced that rugs today would be like the Rembrandts of old. I didn’t ask did that mean we would die impoverished like so many gifted artists.

Inshallah. I can only wonder what would have happened if the show had not featured one particular carpet for display. When it was unrolled, it grabbed Carol’s well trained eye. She said she knew the colors would be perfect for our bare dining room. I admit I saw it too, and thought that was nice, but I was thinking of lunch in the shaded garden. But, I figured we wouldn’t want to hassle with the shipping, and all that. In addition, while they offered a money back guarantee, I doubted anyone really took them up on that.

The final silk carpet shown had a value of over $100,000. It was a tiny prayer rug. You could see this was a bazillion knots per inch. It was incredible, but so was the price. That was the first time price had been mentioned.

Each of us was offered the chance to meet with a specialist and explore our interests. If we were not buyers, no problem, please enjoy a free lunch. (I knew just as mom told my sister, sometimes a free meal can cost too much). Before I knew it two things happened: first, Carol said let’s look at one particular rug, second, Airo was there. His presence was just as abrupt, yet unnoticed as when a high school girl took me to a fundamental Christian’s youth rally, and I was offered a chance to be saved (I wasn’t).

In December, my good friend Jim Maguire and I were on the way to a lunch with Ray Saatjian. He was explaining how adamantly he resisted Christine’s recommendation to start raising turkeys on their farm. That farm is already known around the world for its cheese and poultry, and they both work very hard doing what was already done. Before he finished, I knew they are now offering turkeys. Sometime come by and see our new rug.