This question is unique in the history of Carpetblog and it comes from a Mark Adkins, current whereabouts unspecified:My question is, who is the gorgeous woman pictured at the top left just below the "ABOUT" link? The one in the painting? Who is that, and where can I find bigger pictures? I think I'm in love...(I reserve the right to do a complete about-face if and when I see a larger picture -- I can't see much in the way of detail at present.)
And don't think you can just ignore this. I'll keep pestering you until I find out. Really.Pester all you want, Mark! The story of this lovely lady is here. She is Afghan, and was a special present from a friend who wanted to make sure he brought a carpet I didn't have already! I can totally see why you've...
Afghanistanica pointed out a program that Carpetblog can really get behind. Thanks to Juniata College, a small liberal arts school in Pennsylvania, you can buy pretty carpets made by an Afghan women's cooperative organized by the Ghazni Rural Support Program (GRSP). A portion of the proceeds will pay for scholarships for young Afghans to attend the college.
Learn more about the program here and look at all the pretty carpets! Fair prices, too.
What's not to like about that? It's much easier than shopping on Chicken Street in Kabul with armed guards. Carpetbuying should be a force for good, helping women and young people out.
Carpetblogger......
There is plenty of evidence to suggest that I live in what many believe to be the center of the carpet universe. Even in my own neighborhood, which is nowhere near the Grand Bazaar, antique dealers and junk shops on my street put stacks of carpets outside their doors every sunny day. Some hang them from the windows, as if to taunt me. I resist their siren calls.
These carpets mean nothing to me. I can look at them as I pass; I can even brush my hand over the knots or flip through the stacks, but I do not buy. I can stare the carpet demon down. I never blink.
I am in recovery.
How did this happen? I think it's something along the lines of aversion therapy. Carpets are heavy and awkward. The 20 carpets I just moved from one country to another caused me grief. I never again want to...