So Mete took us to a tourist trap where we could be tempted to buy oriental rugs.

These ladies are pretending to make handmade rugs.  Well, no, actually they really are making handmade rugs, but they're doing it just for the benefit of the tourists.  Of which I am one.  But I will never ever ever succumb to temptation and buy one of these rug things.  Never.

Not even if the weavers capture my imagination.

Not even if they convince me that Turkish rugs are better than Persian rugs because they're DOUBLE KNOTTED, whatever that means.

No, that guy over there that's named "Ariel" or something like that.  I think I got his name wrong, but "Ariel" is close.  Anyway, he was a great salesman.  But I paid no attention.  There was no way I'd be persuaded to buy one of these rugs.

On the other side of the room Ariel was telling us how to make wool rugs, and now he's telling us how to make silk rugs.

Silk?  You mean that's really a silkworm cocoon?

How does this work, exactly?

So you put all those cocoons in water?

Ooooohhh.  Real silk stringing from those very wet cocoons.

Is that Marie Antoinette's head, or just a big pile of silk?  Hm?

You mean cocoons have worms inside?  Eeeeewwww. 

A bowl of silkworm cocoons.  I have one of those -- a single cocoon, not the entire bowl.  Smuggled it right through US customs with no problem at all.  Sure hope silkworm disease doesn't strike the US silk industry.  If there actually is a US silkworm industry.

Don's getting ready to take a picture of silk.  So's Lavona.  Robyn just smiles.

A big spool of industrial silk.

The silk guy dangles cocoons from a brush.

Y'know, this process really was interesting, even for somebody like me who was never ever going to buy a rug.

Oh, golly, here comes the hard sell for the suckers.  Pretty soon the entire floor will be covered with rugs for sale. 

Suckers, suckers, suckers.

Oh, give it a rest, Ariel. We're not going to buy any of this stuff.

Sorta pretty, though.

Some of these rugs look like they could have been woven by American Navajo Indians.  Interesting.

My goodness.  Actually, that's a pretty rug.

Don likes it.

Yeah, a pretty rug.

So I bought one.  The sleepy guy is holding up a corner of it.  And it's supposed to arrive at my condo in five to six weeks.  All taxes and tariffs and shipping charges paid.  Pretty, isn't it?  Don't you think?  Hm?

It's a genuine Yüksel Carpet!