Special Rugs

We went to Oasis Carpet centre in Adliya, good range to suit all budgets, friendly and helpful owner. There are lots of other carpet places on same street, so plenty of choice.

Thanks, i had heard about that area.  Do you feel they are open with you about the origin of the rugs?  i don't want to be taken advantage of. 

Is it an area where I could go with just another woman?  I have been to the Manama Souq with my husband and we have eaten at some great restaurants in the Adliya area (I think it was that area....).

The rugs we chose have the Iranian flag and weaver's name woven into the edge of the rug, so we took that as a pretty good indication of authenticity! The shop owner explained all about the distinctions in quality depending on number of knots per inch, and whether the weaver is a master weaver or not.  I suppose you have to take some of it on trust, but he spent a lot of time getting us to compare rugs of varying quality, and you could feel the difference in textures. The rugs we bought also came with certificates of authenticity, giving the country of origin, maker name etc. My husband did some research online first, so he could ask to see rugs from a particular area. Probably a good idea to go with an idea of what you want and how much you are prepared to pay!
Certainly no problem to go into Adliya with another woman, though you may get approached by traders as in the souk, but it's perfectly safe (as is most of Bahrain!). It's the main restaurant area, so lots of ex-pats around! 
Hope that helps!

thanks, really helps.  i need to schedule a day to go over right away.

You can go to any part of Bahrain with just women, this isn't Saudi and you don't need to be with your hubby to go anywhere. There are also some lovely rugs in BCC - Homecentre and Bahrain Mall - Homestore.

Thanks.  I wasn't worried about it being acceptable.  I am more concerned about safety.  I haven't been here long enough to know which areas are the most safe.

Most areas in Bahrain are safe for women to be on their own. Don't worry. And I second Jo about the malls. The Homecentre has some lovely carpets and rugs.

I "third" Jo's suggestion. I too got some beautiful rugs at both the Homecentre at the BCC and at the Homestore in the Bahrain Mall.

The carpet shops in Adliya do have a good selection especially if you are particular about origin and if they are hand made or machine made.

Update - i purchased 6 rugs from Oasis Handmade Carpet Centre in Manama.  Abdul helped us and was extremely helpful in educating us on what to look for and which rugs would be more durable.  It was great fun as well seeing all the wonderful designs from many different areas. After we purchased the rugs we went next door and had lunch.  it was great too.  Wonderful experience for a newbie.

The rugs are lovely.  The price was much less than i expected to pay.  I am thrilled.  Thank you to everyone who chimed in. This blog was very helpful. 

is there a way to post pictures in your text?  I tried, but could not get them to import.

I will ask more questions in the future as i get to know the region.  Hope i am not too much of a pest.

Cheers. B

Great news. Congratulations!

There is an option to post pictures above but not sure how it works 

You can post pictures here: https://www.expat.com/en/pictures/middle-east/bahrain/

Once done do let us know, so we can take a look.

You have to save the pictures in a web style like dropbox, flicker or similar then you can post the web link using the buttons above where you post (4th button from the left. The blue square) you can also save them as a private album on your facebook, when you click on the little cog at the top right of your album you will see "get link" you then just post the link. You need to have been seen to be active on the forum before a link is automatically accepted. The admin team mark it as under review until they check it out otherwise

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