Rug Centric Love Stories That Are Perfect For Valentines Day
February is the month of romance, St. Valentine’s Day and the magic of falling in love. And where can one find more romance than the story of Aladdin and his beloved Jasmine, flying on their magic carpet? Magical flying carpets have transported lovers and made dreams come true in tales as old as the Bible. According to one versions, the Queen of Sheba sent a magic carpet of green silk, adorned with gold and gemstones, to her lover, King Solomon. Another version holds that God was the one who sent the magic carpet to the King.
There is also the great love story of Scheherazade. This Persian folk tale tells the story of the young and beautiful Arabian maiden, Scheherazade, seduced King Shahreyar with her own storytelling. In this tale, she recounts dramas of magic flying carpets, genies and powerful lamps.
For 1001 nights she regaled the king with her fables until the King had fallen so deeply in love with her that he spared her life and made her his queen.
Whether you spend your Valentine’s Day alone or with someone special, consider finding inspiration in some more modern tales of carpets that will awaken the romantic within.
The Rug Merchant by Meg Mullins; published by Viking, 2006
The Rug Merchant by Meg Mullins for instance, tells the story of Ushman and Stella. In this story, Ushman is a lonely Iranian carpet seller living in New York, and Stella is the young woman who captures his heart.
The Carpet Weaver of Isfahan by Shmuel Peretz, published by Libros, 2014
The Carpet Weaver of Isfahan, a longtime bestseller in Israel, tells the story in which Daniel and the rug weaver’s daughter. In this tale, while Daniel is recovering from wounds acquired while serving in the army, he learns that the small rug in his bedroom is in fact a priceless work of art. Inspired and intrigued, Daniel travels to Canada to meet the man who sold his father the rug. There he learns the Iranian legend behind his rug – that a beautiful Persian woman wove three such carpets, one of which remains in Persia. In a passionate pursuit of the carpet – and of the mysterious woman who created it – he travels to Iran, where he falls in love with the Persian rug weaver’s daughter.
The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani, published by Little Brown, 2007
The Blood of Flowers – takes place in 17th century Isfahan, Persia. There, a young village woman goes to work as a servant for her uncle, a rug designer for the Shah. Like the mystery woman in The Carpet Weaver of Isfahan, she, too, begins designing carpets, while – like Scheherazade – she also weaves tales to tell the man she has been forced to marry. Her extraordinary talents, however, free her to live her own life, designed – like her carpets – as she imagines it.
The Carpet Weaver of Usak by Kathryn Gauci, published by Ebony, 2018
The Carpet Weaver of Usak is a different kind of love story. This one is about the friendship between two women in Anatolia – one a Turkish Muslim, the other a Greek Orthodox. Set in the Ottoman Empire of 1914, the novel describes the bond between these two women. Both women are rug weavers in Oushak – one of the great centers of Turkish rug making, where Greeks and Turks have long worked together to create spectacular woven masterpieces. Now Greece and Turkey confront an inevitable war, the art the women share helps both literally and figuratively to weave their lives – and their hearts – together.
The Legend of the Persian Carpet by Tomie dePaola, published by Putnam Juvenile, 1993
The Legend of the Persian Carpet recounts a Persian legend, told (and illustrated) for children. When King Balash’s brilliant diamond is accidentally destroyed by a clumsy thief, the King’s page discovers the shattered jewel and summons the King to the area. The King beholds the diamond shards spread over the landscape like a glittering Persian carpet, and cannot be drawn away from the sight, refusing to leave. Clever rug weavers at the palace, however, create another area carpet, made of silk the colors of precious gems that was even more magnificent than the actual diamonds. The King then returns back home, as joy returns to his heart.
This Valentine’s Day, where will your magic carpet ride take you? What romances will it bring?
Here are some rugs that will add some romance to your space and are sure to get your heart pumping this Valentine’s day
This post about tales of rugs and love for Valentine’s day was published by Nazmiyal Rugs in NYC
