September/October, 2006
Dear friends and family,
Fall in Russia:
Great for shopping, although St Petersburg seems to be out of Russian Tea. Russian hats are still much, much, much more affordable than in Europe or the States.
No great rugs or sumacs - the few I saw were not worth the effort to ship them home. Too bad. Heard more stories of Russian carpet dealers going to Turkey, Europe and the States looking for the rugs and sumacs they sold off just 5 or 8 years ago.
Restaurants are better and the service has picked up. No more yelling for a waiter.
Turkey:
The Grand Bazaar has always been great for shopping: Outside the Bazaar I found great ikats and small bags, and in Konya there were fabulous kilims and carpets.
Truly a joy and a pleasure to once again be in Konya again. The Rumi Hotel is still the best and most comfortable in Konya, and has a great restaurant - try their spaghetti Bolanaise.
Konya still has the best selection and variety of rugs and textiles anywhere in Turkey.
Wait until you see what we found.
Happy Holy Days,
saul & the sun bow crew
