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From left to right: Dr. Hossein Ghassemi, a US educated o�cial, and a friend of President Khatami, and the head of the Kish Free Zone Organization, the highest government o�cial running the Kish Island. Next is Mr. Manouchehr Emami, Head of the Kish Trade Promotion Center, formerly with the Iran Carpet Company. In the center is the Deputy Minister of Commerce and the head of "Iran Carpet Center", his Excellency Arabsorkhai. I do not have the name of the man next to him on the right. The man at the far right is Mr. Safaei who works for

Mr Emami at the Kish Trade Promotion Center.

Left to right: Abbas Sayahi, Gholam Zollanvari and Mohamed Sassila

Kish is not just about selling. It is social and a great time to make and renew contacts. But really sales count a great deal. Mohamed Sassila decided to come to Kish from the United States because he wanted to make contacts and see rugs that he does not see in the States.

Mohamed ended up buying a large order of Gabbehs from Sobhe Trading. He bought them in part because of the color and the excellent quality. Price surely played a part but one very significant factor is a little unusual. One of the reasons was that the dyes were all natural.

How could Mohamed Sassila know for sure the Sobhe rugs were all natural? Because the wool was dyed by Abbas Sayahi. Mohamed Sassila of Silk Road Collections can now go back to his customers in Santa Fe, New Mexico and with no doubt state that his new Persian Gabbeh rugs were dyed by the master dyer of Iran.

Normally a producer would never tell something as basic as who dyed the wool but in this case that piece of information makes the rugs easier to sell and worth more in the long run.

Parviz Tanavoli addressing the Kish Carpet Festival 2005

Parviz Tanavoli is Iran's greatest living sculptor and rug scholar. Like many in the tumultuous maelstrom of the early days of the Iranian revolution Parvis Tanavoli left and taught in Canada. But ever drawn back by his love for the Iranian people Tanavoli returned and set to work in helping the tribal and village people of Iran. Pursuing his almost single handed crusade Tanavoli continues his e�ort to document the weaving cultures of Iran.

Left to right: Dr. Saeedi of Carpet World the International Magazine for Oriental Carpet, Abbas Sayahi, Mohamed Sassila and Parham Sayahi

Kish Carpet Festival 2005by Barry O’Connel

The �lm, “Carpet of the Wind” by Kamal Tabrizi received the special prize of the international magazine “Carpet World”, (Donyaye Farsh) in Kish Carpet Festival 2005. Hear Dr. Amir Hassan Saeedi, publisher and editor of the magazine, with Reza Kianian (speaking) the star of “Carpet of the Wind”. Next to Kianiah is the set designer Tabrizi.

Currently Tabrizi is the hottest director in Iran from his blockbuster movie, “The Lizard”. In only two weeks, “The Lizard” became one of the biggest box o�ce movies of all time in Iran. It would have made far more money, except that it was banned for being sacreligious. The star of “Carpet of the WInd, Reza Kianian gained much critical acclaim in ”Smell of Camphor, Fragrance of Jasmine”.

“Taher Sabahi is one of the world’s great scholars of Oriental Rugs and Abbas Sayahi is one of the world’s great dye masters. The conversation on dyes was fantastic. Thank goodness that I had Parham Sayahi totranslate.

“Mr. Akbar Mahdii, the manager of Prandis Carpet Gallery, got his diploma in art in 1976 from Isfahan school of Art. From then on he is engaged in creating new designs and initiatives providing best raw materials and equipment and training skillful Knitters for knitting best quality and well designed ever-lasting carpets. Up to now, he has attended 22 collective and individual exhibitionsinside and outside of Iran and his valuable works could be seen in a lot of domestic and foreign Art Galleries, Museums and collections.

Here we have Iran’s greatest living sculptor and rug scholar, Parviz Tanavoli looking at the new line of Sayahi sofrehs with Abbas Sayahi. The line was inspired by Tanavoli’s classic work “The Sofreh of Kama”. Parham Sayahi has worked hard to maintain the traditions of Sofreh creation.

‘Haghighi of Isfahan at Kish Carpet Festival in 2005. I love these birds. When I was debating the state of Iranian Carpets today with the great Iranian scholar, Parvis Tanavoli, I insisted it was improving and he said that it was declining.

When he asked me what I was basing this on, I told him to go look at Haghighli’s birds. The sheer size and technical mastery along the carpet is impressive but the birds

make it special. De�netly in the grand tradition of Persian art these birds combine both tradition and innovation in the best of traditions of the Iranian people.

Dr. Taher Sabahi is the publisher of Gereh International Carpet and Textile Review as well as the author of many books in English, Italian and Farsi on Iranian carpets. Through his extensive studies, Taher Sabahi was the perfect complement to Abbas Sayahi’s Year of experience.

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