Part 2: The ICOC
The ICOC was held at the Swissotel above the Dolmabahce Palace (see Offsite Exhibitions below) - the “new” sultan’s palace - with a fabulous view of the Bosphorus and across the Golden Horn to the Topkapi Saray – the “old” sultan’s palace. Here is a picture from the hotel elevator showing the gate of the Dolmabahce Palace in the foreground and the Golden Horn with the Topkapi in the background:
The grand opening of the Dealers Fair found hundreds of us milling about in several large halls at the Swissotel. Here are some pictures of weavings found at the XI ICOC Dealers Fair, with Lions, Tigers and Bears, Dragons, Jinn’s and other creatures of the imagination: (n. pl. jinn also djinn (jn). In Muslim legend, a spirit often capable of assuming human or animal form and exercising supernatural influence over people.) (3) Does that definition sound a lot like some rug dealers?
A Lion from a pair of bagfaces
More Lions
A parade of
tigers? OK, it is a bit of a stretch.
A Bear???
Must be an
arachnid, eh?
Parts of a dragon
A Jinn?
???
Fighting Jinn’s?
And one of my favorite pieces, being
chanteh-sized.
Massive Malatya
Glorious Gabbeh
???
Brazen Baluch
Yummy Yastik
Bunch-O-Bags
Corridor
Khamseh
Marvelous Malatya
Iridescent Ikat
As you can tell, there was a stunning variety of pieces. There were 40 dealers listed, although some booths had two or three dealers in a group. Of the 40 booths, more than half were based in Turkey. From my visits to the Arasta Bazaar and the Grand Bazaar I learned that many of these dealers had shops in several locations and warehouses in outlying areas.
The day before the ICOC opened, I purchased a pair of Tekke Kizil Chuvals from a small shop in the Grand Bazaar after HOURS of harried haggling, nefarious negotiating and brutal bargaining. (well, maybe 15 minutes). See the thread on The Turkeys I bought in Istanbul for photos.
The next day I met the same dealer in a large booth, bigger than his Bazaar shop, at the Dealers Fair.