Decor: The Art of Carpets

I was recently given a 100 year old Gabeh rug as a wedding present.  A week later I went to Turkey on my honeymoon and landed squarely in Carpet Central.  I have never been that interested in carpets, but I thought that the time had arrived to get informed.  This is what I learned from Memet the carpet dealer: Kilims are flat woven rugs of wool which do not have a pile.  Essentially tribal in nature, they reflect their origins in their bright colours, striking symbols, simple geometrics and stylised  representations of people, animals and everyday objects. Wool or Silk Carpets are carpets made out of wool or silk which are hand-knotted and have a pile. Turkish rugs are double knotted and are more durable than the single knot which is Persian. The higher the knot per square inch the higher the quality.  Approximately 150 knots per square inch is considered average, while fine Turkish rugs may have knots per square inch counts of 500 or more. Soumak rugs are hand-woven and hand-knotted with 100% wool and they are embroidered with 100% pure silk. Because the embroidery threads are not cut off in the back of the rug they hang from 2-4 cm from the back. This means that the pattern is only visible from one side and only that one side is ever facing up.  These rugs are usually hung as tapestries and not used as floor rugs.