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Turkey in June
is always a joy! There are not too many tourists yet, and the weather is
warm with cooler nights. I took the direct flight from Istanbul to
Antalya (on the southern Turkish coast) and thus saved a full day of
overland travel; I arrived on the evening flight and drove directly to
Alanya, one and a half hours by auto. The southern coast is still
developing; prices are higher than in the interior, with choice real
estate tripling in the past three years. The Deutsch Mark is still
strong, and Turkey is a lovely, fun, cheap place to vacation. For the
American, however, it is becoming an expensive place to buy. It has been
said that Turkey has become the favorite vacation spot for Germans this
year, and the rest of Europe isn't far behind -- KLM has just announced
its non-stop service to Izmir from Amsterdam.
There are three Konya carpet dealers now functioning in Alanya and all
are doing well. Çemal Palamatcu has his house (a bit more than a simple
shop) next to the harbor fortress, overlooking the water; it has a
beautiful view. I spent a week there sipping tea, drinking fresh
squeezed orange juice, eating fresh local fish, and looking at great
rugs.
Of the 85 rug dealers in Alanya, Çemal is the only one who deals in old
rugs and kilims. The other dealers have discovered what American dealers
realized years ago: you make more money from a new dining room carpet
than from an antique kilim, and with fewer problems. Walking past the
rows of carpet shops, one is amazed at just how many new carpets there
are, and how much business there is in the tourist market plus European
contacts for future business when the summer season is over. All this
with no government restrictions or hassles, plus lots of points in
heaven for bringing in hard currency for new Turkish production. It has
become a very different business indeed!
After realizing that only Çemal had anything worthwhile in Alanya
(although I did see a l9th century Sharkoy roomsize kilim for $12,000,
which I later heard had sold to a German tourist), we finished our
business and drove through the Toros Mountains to Konya. Small camps are
visible along the roadsides and up the hillsides -- people just hanging
out and enjoying their summer vacations! I didn't see any rugs, but I
saw a lot of big, angry dogs.
Arriving in Konya, I truly felt that I had arrived in Turkey -- more of
a mix of tourists, and a real (non-tourist) economy, plus over 100 rug
dealers all of whom sell old rugs and kilims. Actually, Konya is the
second largest concentration of carpet dealers in Turkey, after
Istanbul.
Some news from Konya: Ahmet Kavatulu has reopened Ahmet's Place (same
location). Çemal Palamatcu has separated his carpets and kilims into two
adjacent shops and still operates his old carpet and kilim depot. During
the summer his stock is split between Alanya and Konya. Asim's
Karavanserai had the largest showroom, and good prices. I did a lot of
business there. Asim also has his own repair and washing facilities, and
does very good work.
Now that the Mevlana Museum is almost restored, Mevlana Street is under
renovation in a major way. The street is being excavated to accommodate
a major underground gold bazaar. The gold merchants have no more room to
expand and have convinced the city to give them their own underground
bazaar -- almost like a bank vault, and weather proofed, sort of like a
"Gold Mall." I'm awaiting the ice cream shops, Gucci leather boutique,
and indoor gardens to complete the picture.
The repair shops are a good place to browse. Not only can one get an
idea of what will be available after repairs, and who to ask about it,
but sometimes the repair people have an interesting piece or three,
themselves. I saw a wonderful old Turkoman carpet with very necessary
repair and available, as well as some fine old fragments.
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