TRAVEL PICS

Baluch encampment on the road from Kandahar to Quetta. It was a good source of textiles for me in the local walled village just behind the tents.

Magnificent architecture and craftsmanship -- even in the arid, sandy desolate surroundings..

A full day spent in the carpet bazaar in the souk in Marrakech yielded only 6 large Berber carpets from the hundreds I handled and inspected. Old and impeccable are hard to find.

I always found good examples of Balouch bags from this dealer near Quetta, Balouchistan, near the Afghan border. See our Tribal Bags pages.

Open air market in the western Middle Atlas of Morocco. As an extra job the lady sitting on the right hand side, her face protected from the scorching sun by a traditional Berber hat, strips down fragments of old and antique kilims so the wools can be re-used in restoration. I am a regular customer.

Re-knotting by hand a worn area in this antique Berber ceremonial horse cover from the High Atlas of Morocco. I blended three different thicknesses and shades of hand spun wools to get a perfect match before reweaving. Two of the wools and two fine steel needles used are seen in the top right hand corner of the photograph.

DINNER TIME: After a day of 40 degree heat and seeing 100s of rugs it is time to eat and sleep. This hostal type buidling is called a "Chaikana" or combination eating and sleeping facility. They are found all over Afghanistan and its border regions.

BREAKFAST TIME: Tea and fresh bread from the hole in the ground nearby which is fired up and becomes the village oven. The kilim acting as a table cloth on the ground was my blanket last night.