Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Tunisia - Part 3
Our one outing was to a carpet maker and leather shop.
Tapis is the local name for the carpets. Carpet-making is traditional and highly valued craft in the whole of Tunisia. It takes hours and hours of hard work to make a final product which is of exceptional beauty and value.
We were shown into the shop and asked to sit next to the women who were busy making carpets. They then showed us the art of tying knots and we were allowed to give it a bash. Oh my word, what would take her 5 seconds took me 5 minutes!!!
She then tied a piece of wool around our wrists as a good luck symbol.
Whether you prefer natural wool or camel hair alloucha of Kairouan, brightly colored klim , margoums, or elegant silk, award Tunisia's carpets the prize for quality and price. The selections in every category are infinite and rare is the visitor who can resist such marvels at such reasonable rates. Most carpets are classified by the number of knots per square meter with silk at the top of the list with 250,000 and over! Shopowners will unroll one splendor after another until you find YOUR carpet. The Offices of the artisanat in most cities sell only quality stamped and inspected carpets and while there is no bargaining, prices are reasonable and they can package and send your carpet by plane.
We were then taken downstairs and shown an array of carpets. These carpets are all hand made and some take months to make, so one wonders just how many people are employed in this trade.
We were shown stacks of carpets and then asked to tell them which ones we liked best. These they put to one side.
We were then ushered through to another bigger room where they laid these carpets out for us and we could decide which one we wanted. Nothing like being forced into buying!!!
We would ask the price and they would say “don’t worry about the price, just think of what a nice carpet you are getting!!”
After much deliberating, we were “forced” into buying a really lovely carpet. This will be packaged and forwarded to us in a few months time, as it has to go through customs etc.
We were then led upstairs to the leather section. They had beautiful soft leather jackets for sale but when hubby was asked to don a jacket, he just told the guy plainly that we were not interested in purchasing any leather whatsoever. The guy dropped us like a hot potatoe and just turned tail and left us sitting there. Talk about a bad “sport” salesman!!
We made yet another purchase before leaving. Hubby bought me a lovely necklace and earrings to match!!
Before being taken back to the hotel, we were taken to The Habib Bourguiba Mosque. The mausoleum in Monastir is the burial place of the town’s most famous son – Habib Bourguiba. Bourguiba was born in Monastir in 1903 and served as the first President of Tunisia from 1953 until 1987. He was never elected by the people in free elections, but he is generally considered as the father of modern Tunisia. Bourguiba died in 2000 and was buried here. The mausoleum has a very impressive appearance with white towers and gold domes, decorated arches, 86 gleaming columns and tiled floors. It is possible to go into the mausoleum which is equally as ornate as the exterior and entrance is free. After a good look around and lots of photo taking, we joined our guide at the bus and were driven back to the hotel.
Tapis is the local name for the carpets. Carpet-making is traditional and highly valued craft in the whole of Tunisia. It takes hours and hours of hard work to make a final product which is of exceptional beauty and value.
We were shown into the shop and asked to sit next to the women who were busy making carpets. They then showed us the art of tying knots and we were allowed to give it a bash. Oh my word, what would take her 5 seconds took me 5 minutes!!!
She then tied a piece of wool around our wrists as a good luck symbol.
Whether you prefer natural wool or camel hair alloucha of Kairouan, brightly colored klim , margoums, or elegant silk, award Tunisia's carpets the prize for quality and price. The selections in every category are infinite and rare is the visitor who can resist such marvels at such reasonable rates. Most carpets are classified by the number of knots per square meter with silk at the top of the list with 250,000 and over! Shopowners will unroll one splendor after another until you find YOUR carpet. The Offices of the artisanat in most cities sell only quality stamped and inspected carpets and while there is no bargaining, prices are reasonable and they can package and send your carpet by plane.
We were then taken downstairs and shown an array of carpets. These carpets are all hand made and some take months to make, so one wonders just how many people are employed in this trade.
We were shown stacks of carpets and then asked to tell them which ones we liked best. These they put to one side.
We were then ushered through to another bigger room where they laid these carpets out for us and we could decide which one we wanted. Nothing like being forced into buying!!!
We would ask the price and they would say “don’t worry about the price, just think of what a nice carpet you are getting!!”
After much deliberating, we were “forced” into buying a really lovely carpet. This will be packaged and forwarded to us in a few months time, as it has to go through customs etc.
We were then led upstairs to the leather section. They had beautiful soft leather jackets for sale but when hubby was asked to don a jacket, he just told the guy plainly that we were not interested in purchasing any leather whatsoever. The guy dropped us like a hot potatoe and just turned tail and left us sitting there. Talk about a bad “sport” salesman!!
We made yet another purchase before leaving. Hubby bought me a lovely necklace and earrings to match!!
Before being taken back to the hotel, we were taken to The Habib Bourguiba Mosque. The mausoleum in Monastir is the burial place of the town’s most famous son – Habib Bourguiba. Bourguiba was born in Monastir in 1903 and served as the first President of Tunisia from 1953 until 1987. He was never elected by the people in free elections, but he is generally considered as the father of modern Tunisia. Bourguiba died in 2000 and was buried here. The mausoleum has a very impressive appearance with white towers and gold domes, decorated arches, 86 gleaming columns and tiled floors. It is possible to go into the mausoleum which is equally as ornate as the exterior and entrance is free. After a good look around and lots of photo taking, we joined our guide at the bus and were driven back to the hotel.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
