Scooped: Aladdin's Magic Carpet Found in Sharjah's Blue Souq

 

"Welcome to Agrabah Sharjah. City of mystery, of enchantment...and the finest merchandise this side of the river Jordan, on sale today, come on down! Heh, heh. Look at this!"

And browse we did!  After several near-dear experiences on the roads of Sharjah (the emirate to the north), we arrived at the Central Souq, also known as the Blue Souq, also known as the largest, shadiest rug bazaar outside of Qom, Iran.  Our quest: find a rug that will fit our new apartment perfectly, but also last a lifetime (and fit every new home we'll ever have).  In short, a magic carpet!

(but not this one - how do you say "tacky" in Arabic?)

The Souq probably has hundreds of dealers, but we were turned on to Tabriz Carpets by an American rug aficionado, and were not disappointed - these guys had everything.  Attif, the head honcho, put my Princess Jasmine in the driver's seat:

Shrewd move, Attif.  But now shrewd enough.  In just a scant two hours, we had narrowed down the selection to these three:

 Another another hour tough, nail-biting negotiating (and tea - always had a prop when negotiating), I got him down 45% and left with...the rug that was hanging on the wall when we walked in (we're suckers for good advertising).

 

And the final product - six years of hand labor and silk wrapped up in a neat, smuggling-friendly package!