(MENAFN - Gulf Times) As in the previous years, manufacturers of carpets, mainly from Iran have taken the Doha Trade Fair by storm for another year.
A close look at the pavilions at the venue of exhibition clearly indicates that there has been a huge rise in the quantum of carpets set for sale at the 10-day event compared to the quantities displayed by exhibitors in the previous years.
Nour Mohamedi, a participant from Mashar in Iran said Persian carpets enjoyed remarkable confidence not only in the region but also throughout the world. His company, said Mohamed, has been a regular participant in fairs in Doha and this time they have brought more diverse carpets for sale.
Some of their family members are already into the local carpet businesses in Qatar.
Inquiries with Mohamedi's team at the venue found the company has carpets starting from QR5,000 to QR400,000 at this year's fair.
"Response to our carpets from the local individuals and institutions over the years has been excellent and our loyal clientele among the Qataris have continued trust in the abilities of our craftsmen," said Mohamedi.
Another carpet maker from Tehran said they exported carpets worth several millions to most parts of the world, and Qatar has always been a good market for his products. "Silk, wool and mixed carpets have been among our attractions and each of them has its loyal long time patrons among Doha residents," he said.
Carpets from Pakistan's Quetta in Baluchistan too are displayed at the exhibition. Like Iran, the South Asian country's craftsmen too have an illustrious tradition and substantial quantities of carpets are exported from Quetta every year to countries across the world, including in the GCC states, said a Pakistani trader at the exhibition, who is participating for the second successive year.
Turkey is another country whose carpets are also displayed in large quantities.
The country has a glorious tradition of more than 500 years in carpet manufacturing and despite the technological advances in recent years, the craftsmen have withstood the challenges faced from elsewhere and continued to produce some of the world's finest hand-woven carpets.
As in Iran, carpet manufacturing is a large scale cottage industry in parts of Turkey, according to exhibitors.
Turkish carpets have remarkable patterns, colours and motifs. Many of them available for sale at the exhibition are woven by women, sometimes over two or three years, said a trader.
