english.eastday.com: "Perfecting Persian style
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
28/12/2005 9:53
Yang Di/Shanghai Daily
In every Persian carpet, there is a world of artistic magnificence that has been nurtured for more than 2,500 years. The best way to experience this world is to drop in to a place like Mortazavy, where luxurious Persian carpets of numerous patterns and styles can be found alongside the less elegant country rugs which also possess amazing workmanship.
Lynn Yekiazarian from England, 51, opened the 175-square-meter shop two months ago on the arty Shaoxing Road, which has a calm and relaxed atmosphere, one of the things Yekiazarian likes so much about Shanghai.
Yekiazarian has been an informal seller of Persian carpets for the five years she has lived here. Over that time, Yekiazarian has had the pleasure of meeting, advising and helping people complement their homes with this art form.
"Finally, I started looking for a shop and decided to take the plunge," Yekiazarian said. Her gallery-like store has more than a hundred different carpets, all of which she picked personally from Iran.
"Persian carpets are renowned for their richness of color, variety of patterns and quality of designs. I really love them," Yekiazarian said.
Yekiazarian's fascination with Persian carpets dates back to mid-1970s. Her husband is Iranian and the couple lived there for three years just after they were married.
As expat wives tend to do, Yekiazarian spent days and days wandering the carpet bazaar, fascinated by the different designs and techniques. She grew to love carpets and, of course, collected dozens of different items.
"In Iran, carpets are part of the lifestyle. Everyone has them," she said. "People also see it a form of investment because fine Persian carpets maintain their value and appreciate over time. It's comforting to know that, this year alone, prices in Iran have increased by 30 percent."
Within two months, the 20 carpets she stocked were sold out. While some rugs are undoubtedly luxury items, such as a wool and silk carpet from Tabriz in northwestern Iran priced more than 169,000 yuan (US$20,864.20), most are placed within a reasonable price range, especially when you consider the fact that they'll still be around in 50 years.
"Most people bought the carpets to decorate their home. It is a bit like having a piece of art for your floor," she said.
The Iranians were among the first, ancient carpet weavers and, through centuries of creativity and ingenuity, building upon the talents of their past, Iranians achieved a unique style and a widely respected talent in the art.
Towards the end of the 19th century, carpet making flourished once more with Tabriz merchants exporting carpets to Europe through Istanbul. Some European and American companies even set up businesses in Persia and organized craft production destined for Western markets.
Today, carpet weaving is by far the most widespread handicraft in Iran and is seen as a national industry.
The city carpets are very good quality, finely knotted and made of strong lustrous wool or silk. The usual city carpet design is a medallion surrounded by flowers and tendrils. However, some carpets are designed with repeating patterns.
Tribal history
Indeed, many of the most common motifs were developed in the 16th century, in the region of Shah Abbas, the Safavid King, who commissioned carpets especially for his palaces in Isfahan. The new motifs included palmettes and curvilinear patterns based on garden plants and flowers - stylized rather than natural.
These patterns are most commonly found in carpets made in the city weaving centers, although each place has its own style. The best known workshops are in Tabriz, Isfahan, Nain, Gom, Mashad, Kerman and Kashan.
City weavers usually make finely knotted Persian carpets, while nomads make coarsely knotted ones. The tribal carpets were probably first made by nomads to cover the earthen floor in their tents.
Tribal carpets, Gabehs, Bakhtiars and Baluches, to name but a few, are always woven in wool. They are also less fine than the city carpets because the thicker wool means fewer knots per square inch. Motifs also take on a more rural tinge with birds, trees and antelopes commonly depicted.
"I like some of the old tribal pieces because they are naturally dyed and when they are old, the colors mellow, which are very warm and rich. And the tribal designs are very individual because nomads don't write down the patterns," Yekiazarian said.
"Small flashes of green may mysteriously appear where the pattern suggests blue. For me, this variation is part of the charm," she added.
"I am not trying to get rich through selling carpets. I like to talk to and educate people who come to our store and who really appreciate these art pieces."
Address: No. 19 Shaoxing Road
Tel: 6467 3556"
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Monday, December 26, 2005
Rare Looms :: Hayko Oltaci Master Rug Restorer
Rare Looms :: AO: " Rare Looms
haykorestoration [HAYKO Restoration Antique Rugs & Tapestry] | POSTED: 12.25.05 @18:34
Rare Looms
by Suzanne Koudsi
"Everybody is gifted at something," says Turkish-born Hayko Oltaci, encircled by multicolored rugs and tapestries. His gift just happens to be more valuable than others.
When Oltaci was 16, his grandfather gave him an old Turkish rug that needed some repair work. He took it to a rug restorer and decided to take up restoration as a hobby. Oltaci didn't plan on making a career out of carpet restoration and never had any formal training. He just did it because he enjoyed it. While studying economics in France, he repaired rugs to earn some extra money.
Today, the 38-year-old runs a successful carpet restoration business in Manhattan. His client list includes some of the city's most esteemed dealers: Christie's, Rafael House, Mary Boone Gallery and Bloomingdale's. Last year someone came all the way over from Dubai, Saudi Arabia to have Oltaci repair his rug.
"I use Oltaci when the work is difficult," says Benjamin Aryeh, "I can't give Oltaci what is beneath him." Aryeh, the president of Rafael Gallery on Madison Avenue, first observed Oltaci's work when he was visiting another carpet dealer where Oltaci worked. "There are hundreds of carpet restorers in New York,' says Aryeh, but "very few have Oltaci's ability and experience." When Aryeh needed a Kazak rug repaired, he took it to another restorer and wasn't satisfied when he got the rug back. He took it to Oltaci and the result was near perfection.
That is oltaci's ultimate goal. Every year he repairs hundreds of rugs, and usually "one becomes perfect," not 99 percent perfect, but 100 percent. If you can see the repair work, then it hasn't been repaired, he adds.
A 27 by 37 foot, 17th century Turkish Oushak Medallion was in desperate need of restoration. Elizabeth Poole, head of the carpet department at Christie's, gave it to Oltaci. When the work was done, "I couldn't even see where it had been restored,' she says.
Oltaci's interest in carpets runs deep. He also likes to buy and sell them, he says as he explains the differences between the Persian and Caucasian rugs hanging on the walls of his workshop. The success of his restoration business has allowed him to explore his passion of buying and selling carpets.
For each rug that he repairs, Oltaci estimates the cost by calculating how much time it will take for the reparation. Restoring an Oriental rug can cost anywhere from $50 to $20,000. Sometimes he quotes customers a certain price and the work ends up taking a lot longer.
While there are easier jobs, where one can make more money, he says. In this business, "you're never really paid your value."
But Oltaci doesn't seem to mind. He likes what he does, and that's what seems to matter most to him."
haykorestoration [HAYKO Restoration Antique Rugs & Tapestry] | POSTED: 12.25.05 @18:34
Rare Looms
by Suzanne Koudsi
"Everybody is gifted at something," says Turkish-born Hayko Oltaci, encircled by multicolored rugs and tapestries. His gift just happens to be more valuable than others.
When Oltaci was 16, his grandfather gave him an old Turkish rug that needed some repair work. He took it to a rug restorer and decided to take up restoration as a hobby. Oltaci didn't plan on making a career out of carpet restoration and never had any formal training. He just did it because he enjoyed it. While studying economics in France, he repaired rugs to earn some extra money.
Today, the 38-year-old runs a successful carpet restoration business in Manhattan. His client list includes some of the city's most esteemed dealers: Christie's, Rafael House, Mary Boone Gallery and Bloomingdale's. Last year someone came all the way over from Dubai, Saudi Arabia to have Oltaci repair his rug.
"I use Oltaci when the work is difficult," says Benjamin Aryeh, "I can't give Oltaci what is beneath him." Aryeh, the president of Rafael Gallery on Madison Avenue, first observed Oltaci's work when he was visiting another carpet dealer where Oltaci worked. "There are hundreds of carpet restorers in New York,' says Aryeh, but "very few have Oltaci's ability and experience." When Aryeh needed a Kazak rug repaired, he took it to another restorer and wasn't satisfied when he got the rug back. He took it to Oltaci and the result was near perfection.
That is oltaci's ultimate goal. Every year he repairs hundreds of rugs, and usually "one becomes perfect," not 99 percent perfect, but 100 percent. If you can see the repair work, then it hasn't been repaired, he adds.
A 27 by 37 foot, 17th century Turkish Oushak Medallion was in desperate need of restoration. Elizabeth Poole, head of the carpet department at Christie's, gave it to Oltaci. When the work was done, "I couldn't even see where it had been restored,' she says.
Oltaci's interest in carpets runs deep. He also likes to buy and sell them, he says as he explains the differences between the Persian and Caucasian rugs hanging on the walls of his workshop. The success of his restoration business has allowed him to explore his passion of buying and selling carpets.
For each rug that he repairs, Oltaci estimates the cost by calculating how much time it will take for the reparation. Restoring an Oriental rug can cost anywhere from $50 to $20,000. Sometimes he quotes customers a certain price and the work ends up taking a lot longer.
While there are easier jobs, where one can make more money, he says. In this business, "you're never really paid your value."
But Oltaci doesn't seem to mind. He likes what he does, and that's what seems to matter most to him."
Monday, December 19, 2005
RugNotes: Karvajar (Kalbajar) province - KHNDZOREK AND THE VICINITY
RugNotes: Monday, April 04, 2005: "Karvajar (Kalbajar) province - KHNDZOREK AND THE VICINITY
Karvajar (Kalbajar) province "KHNDZOREK AND THE VICINITY This village was mentioned for the first time in 1653-54, in the manuscript Gospel of the scribe Martiros Khndzorektsi. In conformity with the cadastre of 1763 Khndzorek was one of the estates belonging to Dadi Vank monastery. It is situated on the right bank of Dutkhu, in a fertile valley, and the later population simply calqued its name to Almalu ('khndzor' means 'apple').
Ruins of a small fortress Jomart still dominate over the valley, on the summit with absolute altitude about 700 m (1876 m above the sea), 1.5 km north of the village Jomard.""
Karvajar (Kalbajar) province "KHNDZOREK AND THE VICINITY This village was mentioned for the first time in 1653-54, in the manuscript Gospel of the scribe Martiros Khndzorektsi. In conformity with the cadastre of 1763 Khndzorek was one of the estates belonging to Dadi Vank monastery. It is situated on the right bank of Dutkhu, in a fertile valley, and the later population simply calqued its name to Almalu ('khndzor' means 'apple').
Ruins of a small fortress Jomart still dominate over the valley, on the summit with absolute altitude about 700 m (1876 m above the sea), 1.5 km north of the village Jomard.""
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
User:Roozbeh - Wikipedia, Anti-Government Disident in Tehran
User:Roozbeh - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "User:Roozbeh
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit
Jump to: navigation, search
Roozbeh
Information
DOB:April 1, 1979
English weblog:[1]
Persian weblog:[2]
Location:Tehran
This is Roozbeh Pournader (????? ???????) of Tehran, Iran.
[edit]Life and work
I live in Tehran with my wife.
I work as the CTO of Sharif FarsiWeb, Inc., a company doing software localization, internationalization, standardization, and free software and Open Source customization, consulting, and development. We have our own GNU/Linux distribution, its users including Royal Dutch Shell branch in Iran.
[edit]Wikipedia
I became an admin in the English Wikipedia in April, 2004.
This is the same user as ????? on the Persian Wikipedia, of which I was the main founder.
Most of my contributions to the Wikipedia is about Iranian people or politics, but I am also interested in copyright-related cleanup. Cleanup is specially important since we can't anymore assume that contributors know much about the copyright law, or even that they have good intentions: Wikipedia becoming so popular results in people trying to introduce issues of their interest in the Wikipedia at any cost, including copyright violations.
For a list of the articles in the English Wikipedia started by me, see /Contributions"
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit
Jump to: navigation, search
Roozbeh
Information
DOB:April 1, 1979
English weblog:[1]
Persian weblog:[2]
Location:Tehran
This is Roozbeh Pournader (????? ???????) of Tehran, Iran.
[edit]Life and work
I live in Tehran with my wife.
I work as the CTO of Sharif FarsiWeb, Inc., a company doing software localization, internationalization, standardization, and free software and Open Source customization, consulting, and development. We have our own GNU/Linux distribution, its users including Royal Dutch Shell branch in Iran.
[edit]Wikipedia
I became an admin in the English Wikipedia in April, 2004.
This is the same user as ????? on the Persian Wikipedia, of which I was the main founder.
Most of my contributions to the Wikipedia is about Iranian people or politics, but I am also interested in copyright-related cleanup. Cleanup is specially important since we can't anymore assume that contributors know much about the copyright law, or even that they have good intentions: Wikipedia becoming so popular results in people trying to introduce issues of their interest in the Wikipedia at any cost, including copyright violations.
For a list of the articles in the English Wikipedia started by me, see /Contributions"
Wikipedia's Chief: Don't Quote Us - Yahoo! News - Wikipedia is "Internet character assassination."
Wikipedia's Chief: Don't Quote Us - Yahoo! News: "Wikipedia's Chief: Don't Quote Us By Burt Helm
Wed Dec 14, 8:13 AM ET
Online encyclopedia Wikipedia is awash in controversy. The imbroglio was touched off by an anonymously written biography entry that linked former USA Today Editor John Seigenthaler Sr. with the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Senator Robert F. Kennedy. The writer, Brian Chase, has issued an apology for a prank he says went terribly awry. Seigenthaler, in a Nov. 29 USA Today editorial, criticized Wikipedia and called the fake biography "Internet character assassination."
The incident has cast doubt on the credibility of Wikipedia, which lets users anonymously create new articles and edit existing entries -- which number more than 1 million in 10 languages. On Dec. 7, New York Times Business Editor Larry Ingrassia sent a memo urging his staff not to use the site to check information. And on Dec. 12, a group based in Long Beach, N.Y., announced it would pursue a class action against the site to represent those "who believe that they have been defamed or who have been the subject of anonymous and malicious postings to the popular online encyclopedia Wikipedia."
The encyclopedia is designed to be self-policing, allowing the public to weigh in and correct inaccuracies. But the Seigenthaler entry "slipped through the cracks," says Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia founder and president of Wikimedia Foundation, which runs Wikipedia. The site is taking steps to prevent a recurrence, he says. Those include barring unregistered users from creating new pages. Wales spoke with BusinessWeek Online's Burt Helm on Dec. 13. Edited excerpts from their conversation follow.
What happened with Seigenthaler's biography?
It slipped through the cracks. In the community, we have what we call a New Pages Patrol -- they put new entries in a category and add links and so on. They just weren't able to keep up with how many new pages were coming online every day. It wasn't what was supposed to happen at that stage in the process.
Since then, we've decided that we want to slow down the creation of new pages, so starting in January we're preventing unregistered users from creating new pages, because so often those have to be deleted.
About how many people use and contribute to Wikipedia?
The number I like to talk about is the number of very active editors -- those that do the bulk of the work. As of October, there were about 1,850 for the English version of Wikipedia, and 4,573 worldwide. We don't know how many unique users visit the site because we're lame and don't keep track of it -- we don't sell advertising, so we don't have to. But we get about 2.5 billion page views per month.
How should users view Wikipedia? Do you think they should consider it authoritative?
It should be thought of as a work in progress -- it's our intention to be Britannica or better quality, and our policies and everything are designed with that goal in mind. We don't reach that quality yet -- we know that. We're a work in progress.
Do you think students and researchers should cite Wikipedia?
No, I don't think people should cite it, and I don't think people should cite Britannica, either -- the error rate there isn't very good. People shouldn't be citing encyclopedias in the first place. Wikipedia and other encyclopedias should be solid enough to give good, solid background information to inform your studies for a deeper level. And really, it's more reliable to read Wikipedia for background than to read random Web pages on the Internet.
Seigenthaler's main criticism of Wikipedia is that contributors are allowed to edit and add to articles anonymously. Why do you feel it's important to allow contributors and site administrators to remain anonymous?
There are two reasons I would put forward. First, on the Internet, it's impossible to actually confirm people's identity in the first place, short of getting credit-card information. On any site it's very easy to come up with a fake identity, regardless.
Second, there are definitely people working in Wikipedia who may have privacy reasons for not wanting their name on the site. For example, there are people working on Wikipedia from China, where the site is currently blocked. We have a contributor in Iran who has twice been told his name has been turned into the police for his work in Wikipedia. He's brave. His real name is known, actually. But there are lots of reasons for privacy online that aren't nefarious.
Doesn't the anonymity open the door for easy slander and libel?
I would say, in general, no. In a certain respect, when you have any kind of Web site with broad public participation -- Web forums, unmoderated mailing lists, comments on blogs, blogs themselves -- there's always the potential that someone is going to write something nasty. It doesn't mean that we're perfect, of course, but the difference at Wikipedia is you have a community that's empowered to do something about it."
Wed Dec 14, 8:13 AM ET
Online encyclopedia Wikipedia is awash in controversy. The imbroglio was touched off by an anonymously written biography entry that linked former USA Today Editor John Seigenthaler Sr. with the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Senator Robert F. Kennedy. The writer, Brian Chase, has issued an apology for a prank he says went terribly awry. Seigenthaler, in a Nov. 29 USA Today editorial, criticized Wikipedia and called the fake biography "Internet character assassination."
The incident has cast doubt on the credibility of Wikipedia, which lets users anonymously create new articles and edit existing entries -- which number more than 1 million in 10 languages. On Dec. 7, New York Times Business Editor Larry Ingrassia sent a memo urging his staff not to use the site to check information. And on Dec. 12, a group based in Long Beach, N.Y., announced it would pursue a class action against the site to represent those "who believe that they have been defamed or who have been the subject of anonymous and malicious postings to the popular online encyclopedia Wikipedia."
The encyclopedia is designed to be self-policing, allowing the public to weigh in and correct inaccuracies. But the Seigenthaler entry "slipped through the cracks," says Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia founder and president of Wikimedia Foundation, which runs Wikipedia. The site is taking steps to prevent a recurrence, he says. Those include barring unregistered users from creating new pages. Wales spoke with BusinessWeek Online's Burt Helm on Dec. 13. Edited excerpts from their conversation follow.
What happened with Seigenthaler's biography?
It slipped through the cracks. In the community, we have what we call a New Pages Patrol -- they put new entries in a category and add links and so on. They just weren't able to keep up with how many new pages were coming online every day. It wasn't what was supposed to happen at that stage in the process.
Since then, we've decided that we want to slow down the creation of new pages, so starting in January we're preventing unregistered users from creating new pages, because so often those have to be deleted.
About how many people use and contribute to Wikipedia?
The number I like to talk about is the number of very active editors -- those that do the bulk of the work. As of October, there were about 1,850 for the English version of Wikipedia, and 4,573 worldwide. We don't know how many unique users visit the site because we're lame and don't keep track of it -- we don't sell advertising, so we don't have to. But we get about 2.5 billion page views per month.
How should users view Wikipedia? Do you think they should consider it authoritative?
It should be thought of as a work in progress -- it's our intention to be Britannica or better quality, and our policies and everything are designed with that goal in mind. We don't reach that quality yet -- we know that. We're a work in progress.
Do you think students and researchers should cite Wikipedia?
No, I don't think people should cite it, and I don't think people should cite Britannica, either -- the error rate there isn't very good. People shouldn't be citing encyclopedias in the first place. Wikipedia and other encyclopedias should be solid enough to give good, solid background information to inform your studies for a deeper level. And really, it's more reliable to read Wikipedia for background than to read random Web pages on the Internet.
Seigenthaler's main criticism of Wikipedia is that contributors are allowed to edit and add to articles anonymously. Why do you feel it's important to allow contributors and site administrators to remain anonymous?
There are two reasons I would put forward. First, on the Internet, it's impossible to actually confirm people's identity in the first place, short of getting credit-card information. On any site it's very easy to come up with a fake identity, regardless.
Second, there are definitely people working in Wikipedia who may have privacy reasons for not wanting their name on the site. For example, there are people working on Wikipedia from China, where the site is currently blocked. We have a contributor in Iran who has twice been told his name has been turned into the police for his work in Wikipedia. He's brave. His real name is known, actually. But there are lots of reasons for privacy online that aren't nefarious.
Doesn't the anonymity open the door for easy slander and libel?
I would say, in general, no. In a certain respect, when you have any kind of Web site with broad public participation -- Web forums, unmoderated mailing lists, comments on blogs, blogs themselves -- there's always the potential that someone is going to write something nasty. It doesn't mean that we're perfect, of course, but the difference at Wikipedia is you have a community that's empowered to do something about it."
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Child Labor in Afghanistan: The woes of young carpet weavers
afghanistan: The woes of young carpet weavers: "afghanistan: The woes of young carpet weavers
Shamta, 12, works on a carpet loom at her home workshop. Thousands of women and girl weavers in Afghanistan are the ?unpaid slaves? of their male relatives, a rights activist has charged. Carpets, made mostly in the North of the country, are one of the country?s few exports
The sun rises and sets, weeks and months pass, and 12-year-old Shamta?s bony fingers tie knot after knot to countless strings that will eventually mesh into a soft carpet.
She is one of thousands of Afghan girls and women who pass much of their lives working in often-squalid home-based ?factories? to create the luxurious rugs that Afghanistan is famous for and adorn well-to-do homes across the world.
The colorful carpets can fetch thousands of dollars, but they bring the women who weave them just enough to get by -- and a lot of hardship.
?I start at dawn and stop by sunset -- yes, it?s hard work?, Shamta says at her loom under a tarpaulin in one of the poorest areas of Kabul. But, she adds, ?I?m used to it?.
The girl, who has never been to school, works with her 16-year-old sister, Fauzia, and two younger brothers on carpets that measure 24 square meters, each one taking about three months to finish.
Carpet-weaving is an ancient tradition in Afghanistan and one of the war-ravaged country?s few exports. For Shamta?s family of 12, it is their only income.
?We earn some 15,000 to 20,000 afghanis [300 to 400 dollars] a month. It?s not enough?, says Shamta?s father, Wahidallah, who like many other Afghans uses only one name.
Wahidallah taught his children the skill, which was passed onto him by his own father. The family is employed by a dealer to make the carpets, which can each fetch about 3,000 dollars.
Shamta admits the job of tying tiny knots has taken a toll on her young body. ?My eyes sometimes itch?, she complains. ?My spine also hurts?.
The plight of Shamta and thousands of others like her has alarmed rights activist Nilofar Sayar, who this year spent months with about 300 carpetweavers in Northern Afghanistan, the country?s top carpet-producing area.
?They?re the unpaid slaves of their male relatives?, she says in a booklet on her findings released recently.
?It?s fortunate that carpets can provide businessmen annual profit in Afghanistan, but have you ever thought of who is behind producing these carpets?? she asks.
The women and girls, some as young as 11, spend up to 18 hours at work in ?dusty, dark, dank rooms?, she says. The conditions often lead to tuberculosis.
The minute and dusty work often causes eye problems among the weavers, while constant contact with dyes and wool can cause reactions to their skin. Their legs, backs and shoulders are strained by hours of sitting in the same position, often on the floor.
?They suffer from diseases but are still weaving carpets -- they?re being used as machines by their husbands but no one cares about them?, Sayar says.
To cope, and to keep their babies still while they are at work, many women resort to taking opium, which is easy to come by in Afghanistan, the world?s biggest supplier of the drug.
Sayar?s report quotes a carpet weaver saying, ?I have to give opium [to the baby]. If I don?t, who would weave carpets?
?If a girl wants to weave and wants not to be tired, she would use a little opium?.
The carpet weavers are often prevented from going to school by their families, or are poor students because they have no time to spend on their studies, according to Sayar?s research.
And many become spinsters because potential husbands cannot afford the dowry a family demands for one of its key earners.
?Those who are married off should work hard to make the money which her husband has paid for her father as dowry?, she says. ?They?re like hostages who work for their freedom?.
Sayar, who works for the non-governmental group Rabia Balkhi Management of Skills Support and Improvement group, called on the US-backed government of President Hamid Karzai to end the ?misery of Afghan women?.
While the conditions in the capital might be better than in the remote North, the knots and strings that occupy young Shamta are the same.
?Green on green, red on red and purple on purple ? you have to be careful?, the girl says.
?Can you count the knots... They make up a carpet?, she says with a little smile."
Shamta, 12, works on a carpet loom at her home workshop. Thousands of women and girl weavers in Afghanistan are the ?unpaid slaves? of their male relatives, a rights activist has charged. Carpets, made mostly in the North of the country, are one of the country?s few exports
The sun rises and sets, weeks and months pass, and 12-year-old Shamta?s bony fingers tie knot after knot to countless strings that will eventually mesh into a soft carpet.
She is one of thousands of Afghan girls and women who pass much of their lives working in often-squalid home-based ?factories? to create the luxurious rugs that Afghanistan is famous for and adorn well-to-do homes across the world.
The colorful carpets can fetch thousands of dollars, but they bring the women who weave them just enough to get by -- and a lot of hardship.
?I start at dawn and stop by sunset -- yes, it?s hard work?, Shamta says at her loom under a tarpaulin in one of the poorest areas of Kabul. But, she adds, ?I?m used to it?.
The girl, who has never been to school, works with her 16-year-old sister, Fauzia, and two younger brothers on carpets that measure 24 square meters, each one taking about three months to finish.
Carpet-weaving is an ancient tradition in Afghanistan and one of the war-ravaged country?s few exports. For Shamta?s family of 12, it is their only income.
?We earn some 15,000 to 20,000 afghanis [300 to 400 dollars] a month. It?s not enough?, says Shamta?s father, Wahidallah, who like many other Afghans uses only one name.
Wahidallah taught his children the skill, which was passed onto him by his own father. The family is employed by a dealer to make the carpets, which can each fetch about 3,000 dollars.
Shamta admits the job of tying tiny knots has taken a toll on her young body. ?My eyes sometimes itch?, she complains. ?My spine also hurts?.
The plight of Shamta and thousands of others like her has alarmed rights activist Nilofar Sayar, who this year spent months with about 300 carpetweavers in Northern Afghanistan, the country?s top carpet-producing area.
?They?re the unpaid slaves of their male relatives?, she says in a booklet on her findings released recently.
?It?s fortunate that carpets can provide businessmen annual profit in Afghanistan, but have you ever thought of who is behind producing these carpets?? she asks.
The women and girls, some as young as 11, spend up to 18 hours at work in ?dusty, dark, dank rooms?, she says. The conditions often lead to tuberculosis.
The minute and dusty work often causes eye problems among the weavers, while constant contact with dyes and wool can cause reactions to their skin. Their legs, backs and shoulders are strained by hours of sitting in the same position, often on the floor.
?They suffer from diseases but are still weaving carpets -- they?re being used as machines by their husbands but no one cares about them?, Sayar says.
To cope, and to keep their babies still while they are at work, many women resort to taking opium, which is easy to come by in Afghanistan, the world?s biggest supplier of the drug.
Sayar?s report quotes a carpet weaver saying, ?I have to give opium [to the baby]. If I don?t, who would weave carpets?
?If a girl wants to weave and wants not to be tired, she would use a little opium?.
The carpet weavers are often prevented from going to school by their families, or are poor students because they have no time to spend on their studies, according to Sayar?s research.
And many become spinsters because potential husbands cannot afford the dowry a family demands for one of its key earners.
?Those who are married off should work hard to make the money which her husband has paid for her father as dowry?, she says. ?They?re like hostages who work for their freedom?.
Sayar, who works for the non-governmental group Rabia Balkhi Management of Skills Support and Improvement group, called on the US-backed government of President Hamid Karzai to end the ?misery of Afghan women?.
While the conditions in the capital might be better than in the remote North, the knots and strings that occupy young Shamta are the same.
?Green on green, red on red and purple on purple ? you have to be careful?, the girl says.
?Can you count the knots... They make up a carpet?, she says with a little smile."
Friday, December 02, 2005
Iran Daily - Kerman Qanats Dying - 12/01/05
Iran Daily - Panorama - 12/01/05: "Kerman Qanats Dying
Reasons behind destruction of qanats (aqueducts) in Kerman Plain were put up for debate in an international conference recently held in the capital city of the southern province, IRNA reported.
Speaking at the event, a groundwater expert with Kerman Regional Water Company asserted that a 39-meter fall in the water tables during 1964-2004 had led to deterioration of the majority of qanats in Kerman Plain.
Hossein Zeraatkar revealed that at present, the situation has forced locals to dig deep wells to obtain water.
Recalling that there were no deep wells prior to 1951, the official stated that the 40-year-long decline in the water level caused all semi-deep wells to be replaced by deep ones.
Zeraatkar believes that deep wells have adverse impact on the quality of water in certain spots such as Ekhtiarabad, Zangiabad, Hojjatabad and Rabat.
He cited statistics based on which over 1,000 underground water reservoirs including wells, springs and qanats in the plain generated close to 390 million cubic meters of water a year in the past.
The expert said that some 88 percent of the amount was used for irrigating farmlands, 2 percent by industrial units and the remaining as potable water.
An increase in the number of deep wells and a decline in groundwater level will cause more qanats to dry up, Zeraatkar warned.
He blamed excessive exploitation for reducing qanats from 30 in 1982 to 24 at present.
?At present, there are no qanats in the center of Kerman Plain and the remaining are located on the periphery of Joupar, Mahan and Baghin highlands,? the expert expanded.
He regretted that the dried qanats cannot be revived under any circumstances."
Reasons behind destruction of qanats (aqueducts) in Kerman Plain were put up for debate in an international conference recently held in the capital city of the southern province, IRNA reported.
Speaking at the event, a groundwater expert with Kerman Regional Water Company asserted that a 39-meter fall in the water tables during 1964-2004 had led to deterioration of the majority of qanats in Kerman Plain.
Hossein Zeraatkar revealed that at present, the situation has forced locals to dig deep wells to obtain water.
Recalling that there were no deep wells prior to 1951, the official stated that the 40-year-long decline in the water level caused all semi-deep wells to be replaced by deep ones.
Zeraatkar believes that deep wells have adverse impact on the quality of water in certain spots such as Ekhtiarabad, Zangiabad, Hojjatabad and Rabat.
He cited statistics based on which over 1,000 underground water reservoirs including wells, springs and qanats in the plain generated close to 390 million cubic meters of water a year in the past.
The expert said that some 88 percent of the amount was used for irrigating farmlands, 2 percent by industrial units and the remaining as potable water.
An increase in the number of deep wells and a decline in groundwater level will cause more qanats to dry up, Zeraatkar warned.
He blamed excessive exploitation for reducing qanats from 30 in 1982 to 24 at present.
?At present, there are no qanats in the center of Kerman Plain and the remaining are located on the periphery of Joupar, Mahan and Baghin highlands,? the expert expanded.
He regretted that the dried qanats cannot be revived under any circumstances."
Iran Daily - Kerman Qanats Dying - 12/01/05
Iran Daily - Panorama - 12/01/05: "Kerman Qanats Dying
Reasons behind destruction of qanats (aqueducts) in Kerman Plain were put up for debate in an international conference recently held in the capital city of the southern province, IRNA reported.
Speaking at the event, a groundwater expert with Kerman Regional Water Company asserted that a 39-meter fall in the water tables during 1964-2004 had led to deterioration of the majority of qanats in Kerman Plain.
Hossein Zeraatkar revealed that at present, the situation has forced locals to dig deep wells to obtain water.
Recalling that there were no deep wells prior to 1951, the official stated that the 40-year-long decline in the water level caused all semi-deep wells to be replaced by deep ones.
Zeraatkar believes that deep wells have adverse impact on the quality of water in certain spots such as Ekhtiarabad, Zangiabad, Hojjatabad and Rabat.
He cited statistics based on which over 1,000 underground water reservoirs including wells, springs and qanats in the plain generated close to 390 million cubic meters of water a year in the past.
The expert said that some 88 percent of the amount was used for irrigating farmlands, 2 percent by industrial units and the remaining as potable water.
An increase in the number of deep wells and a decline in groundwater level will cause more qanats to dry up, Zeraatkar warned.
He blamed excessive exploitation for reducing qanats from 30 in 1982 to 24 at present.
?At present, there are no qanats in the center of Kerman Plain and the remaining are located on the periphery of Joupar, Mahan and Baghin highlands,? the expert expanded.
He regretted that the dried qanats cannot be revived under any circumstances."
Reasons behind destruction of qanats (aqueducts) in Kerman Plain were put up for debate in an international conference recently held in the capital city of the southern province, IRNA reported.
Speaking at the event, a groundwater expert with Kerman Regional Water Company asserted that a 39-meter fall in the water tables during 1964-2004 had led to deterioration of the majority of qanats in Kerman Plain.
Hossein Zeraatkar revealed that at present, the situation has forced locals to dig deep wells to obtain water.
Recalling that there were no deep wells prior to 1951, the official stated that the 40-year-long decline in the water level caused all semi-deep wells to be replaced by deep ones.
Zeraatkar believes that deep wells have adverse impact on the quality of water in certain spots such as Ekhtiarabad, Zangiabad, Hojjatabad and Rabat.
He cited statistics based on which over 1,000 underground water reservoirs including wells, springs and qanats in the plain generated close to 390 million cubic meters of water a year in the past.
The expert said that some 88 percent of the amount was used for irrigating farmlands, 2 percent by industrial units and the remaining as potable water.
An increase in the number of deep wells and a decline in groundwater level will cause more qanats to dry up, Zeraatkar warned.
He blamed excessive exploitation for reducing qanats from 30 in 1982 to 24 at present.
?At present, there are no qanats in the center of Kerman Plain and the remaining are located on the periphery of Joupar, Mahan and Baghin highlands,? the expert expanded.
He regretted that the dried qanats cannot be revived under any circumstances."
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