Persian carpets, in words

The Persian carpet is a national art form, and a few words let you talk about it with real appreciation.

The everyday word for carpet is farsh فرش, and a knotted pile carpet is a ghali قالی. A flatwoven rug, what English calls a kilim, is a gelim گلیم.

How a carpet is built

Hand-knotted carpets are made one knot, gereh گره, at a time, sometimes hundreds per square inch. The design is the naghsh نقش, and motifs often carry meaning, from gardens to the boteh (the paisley shape).

The famous cities

Carpets are closely tied to where they are made: Tabriz, Kashan, Isfahan, Qom, and Nain each have recognisable styles. Naming a carpet by its city is like naming a wine by its region.

More than decoration

A fine carpet can be a family heirloom, a store of value, and the centrepiece of a room. Complimenting a host's carpet is a graceful thing to do, because it often carries real history.

Knowing farsh, ghali, and gelim, and a few weaving cities, turns a rug from a floor covering into a story you can talk about.