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money he would lend it to us. We were shocked that a complete stranger would do this, but he said he was serious, so we borrowed the money and went to the hamam. Afterward, we repaid him, and because we really were interested in Turkish weavings, we asked Ömer to tell us about the beautiful things in his shop. Over the course of several days, we made repeated visits, for hours at a time, and we learned an awful lot. We felt ready to buy something with confidence. But Ömer said we should do one more thing: visit the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum, where we would see how Anatolian weavings were a part of daily life among village and nomadic families of Turkey. My husband opted out—he went to see the Church of Saint Stephen of the Bulgars, which has the distinction of having been constructed entirely of cast iron, in Vienna, and shipped in sections down the Danube and across the Black Sea—so I went on my own. Ömer was right. It was as if everything he’d told us had ten times more significance. We ended up not purchasing anything from Ömer then—as our belongings were in storage, we didn’t have a mailing address, and we didn’t want to cart around a rug—but armed with our newfound knowledge, we did buy some kilim weavings in Kaymaklı that we later had made into pillows and a wall hanging. I knew Ömer would have been proud of our selections.

Over the years, we’ve stayed in touch with Ömer, sharing cards and photographs. With his two shops in Arasta he has much more room to showcase his weavings. He specializes in antique textiles and nomadic and tribal art, and when we met him, he dealt almost exclusively with Anatolian weavings. However, the nomadic tradition is dying out in Turkey, and basically what was once a flood of items being sold by families is now a trickle, so Ömer now carries many weavings from Central Asia, Iran, and beyond. He has rugs, of course, but to me the really interesting items in his shops are the camel bags, hanging cradles, wall hangings, salt bags, etc., and his prices for both rugs and trappings are affordable. Naturally, I recommend a visit to Ömer’s shop, but if my recommendation isn’t enough, I’m happy to note that in a piece called “Istanbul: The Kilim Connection,” which appeared in the December 2002 issue of Travel + Leisure, writer Carol Southern (who was Martha Stewart’s first editor), included Eymen Halıcılık in a short roundup of recommended dealers. Ömer can be reached at +90 212 516 0733 and his Web site is Eymen.com.tr. Two Web sites for the Arasta Bazaar are Arastabazaar.net and Arastabazaar.com.

Here are a few other great merchants I especially like in the Arasta Bazaar:

Cocoon, at no. 93, was established in 1996 by Seref Ozen and Mustafa Gokhan Demir, and they have an outstanding selection of textiles, ikats, flatweaves, trappings, and rugs from Anatolia, Syria, the Caucasus, Persia, the Yemen, and Central Asia. Ozen is one of the world’s foremost authorities on Central Asian textiles, and he is held in high regard among collectors. He’s written for Hali: Carpet, Textile and Islamic Art (and represents the magazine in Istanbul) and regularly exhibits at all the major tribal art shows internationally. Cocoon also has an appealing line of its own wool-felt items. The Arasta Bazaar shop primarily features hats. These were influenced by hats worn during the Ottoman Empire at Topkapı, the different styles representing the different ranks of the courtiers. But at the Cocoon shop in the Grand Bazaar (see page 526) the full array of felt items—necklaces, pins, headbands, handbags, etc.—are displayed. The Cocoon Web site, Cocoontr.com, features an excellent lexicon of rug and textile terms that weaving enthusiasts should consult, as well as a thorough list of dealers and resources.

Iznik Classics, at no. 67, offers authentic Iznik ceramic reproductions (see Iznik entry, page 544).

Troy Rug Store, at no. 39, was recommended by a friend of a friend who’s been visiting owner Mustafa Cesur, and buying from him, for many years. True to Corinna’s word, Mustafa is an incredibly kind man