Comments on: Persian Carpets in Tabriz Bazaar, the World’s Largest Covered Market

By: Audrey Scott

Audrey Scott — Sat, 04 Jul 2015 21:56:51 +0000

In reply to Mahdi-A.

Hi Mahdi-A,
We do know that Iran has different ethnic groups and cultures inside its borders. I have corrected the entry to list this style as Azerbaijani. You might also enjoy this photo essay we did on northwestern Iran that discusses this: http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20140319-irans-province-of-surprises

By: Mahdi-A

Mahdi-A — Thu, 02 Jul 2015 23:40:42 +0000

In reply to Daniel Noll.

Unfortunately you’ve called azerbaijanian carpets as Persian carpets while there are certain differences between this two kind of carpets Even if you take a research about them you’ll actually discover them, at other side , iran is a country with different ethnic areas and the Azerbaijan carpets are rarely limited to Azerbaijan provinces of iran and calling this both kinds of carpets as Persian is an unaware act And based on rasicm
So please edit the passage.
Thanks so much!

By: kourosh

kourosh — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 00:58:58 +0000

ha ha.. hope those vendors didn’t have a huge collection! p.s yes we do have clowns too 😉

By: Daniel Noll

Daniel Noll — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 12:29:32 +0000

@JoAnna: The patterns are incredible. Also, I suppose it depends on budget and expectations when it comes to buying a Persian carpet. Some of the Tabriz style designs (including the ones that aren’t double-sided silk carpets) can probably be had for $500 for a decent-sized one if you bargain hard enough. Having said that, the better the design, the better the fabric, the more work, the older they are, the more astronomical in price they become. Audrey and I always seemed to be attracted to the ones that cost thousands.

@kourosh: Yes, even after a few years, a carpet can increase in price. We were even told that some vendors walked on their carpets frequently just to wear them in and make them look older.

By: kourosh

kourosh — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 05:38:06 +0000

re:JoAnna
not all persian rugs are pricy,but if you buy the right type as new, over time,even as little as five or six years,it would be classed as a collectable item.also, if you are interested in their design,you can check out on-line shops,there’s a huge collection of pictures.

By: JoAnna

JoAnna — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 21:07:41 +0000

So beautiful! Even though it sounds like they’re pricy, I’ll best it’s a lot of fun to dig through the piles just to see what all the different designs and patterns look like.

By: Audrey Scott

Audrey Scott — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 18:44:11 +0000

@Sutapa: Great questions! Apparently it’s tradition that they only work 4 hours a day – the assumption is that they make enough money during that time that they don’t need to work more. Carpets are a big investment for regular people, so the deals were either negotiations with private buyers or bulk sales to business people. There are special carpet buyers who buy in one place and then distribute to shops throughout the country. I don’t believe that it’s possible to export antique rugs from Iran – they are considered a “national treasure.”

By: Sutapa Chattopadhyay

Sutapa Chattopadhyay — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 20:21:20 +0000

Audrey, why do they remain open only 4 hours a day? And who are they forming deals with? Are the deals being made with antiques dealers who specialize in selling old carpets? Who are the actual sellers?

By: Audrey Scott

Audrey Scott — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 16:52:12 +0000

@Sam: To make these spherical panoramas we use an 8mm fisheye lens and take 4 photos at 90-degree angles (plus one above). Then we stitch the images together using Autopano Giga and make the “tour” you see above using PanoTour.

By: Sam

Sam — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 16:48:49 +0000

That panorama is really cool, are you able to explain how you make it?