Amazon.co.uk Review
The Carpet Wars reveals that in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kashmir, Iran, Iraq and the Central Asian republics, carpets are viewed as objects of reverence and expressions of the highest artistic achievement. As the region's second largest export behind oil, they are also big business. "The early Muslims inhabited lands where people were born on carpets, prayed on them and covered their tombs with them. For centuries, carpets have been a currency and an export, among the first commodities of a globalised trading system," writes author Christopher Kremmer. Even in the midst of turmoil and war, a bazaar will spring up during breaks in the fighting and carpet merchants will quickly resume business as if nothing had happened. In this detailed look at the culture and recent history of these countries, the carpet trade serves as both backdrop and metaphor for the shadowy and complex politics of the region in which trickery, illusion and manipulation are part of the game.
The result of 10 years spent as a journalist in the region, The Carpet Wars explains how the fragile web of tribal and religious alliances and the influence of outside powers have impacted the politics and economy of the area and began a continuous cycle of exile and return, along with the rise of militarism and terrorism. The book also serves as excellent travel writing, with fascinating anecdotes and telling conversations and encounters that illustrate the customs of a region that is now the focus of international attention. --Shawn Carkonen
Review
Christopher Kremmer spent over a decade roaming the ancient lands of the Middle East, inspired by the beauty and complexity of the region's handicrafts and cultural artefacts. Indulging his passion for the rugs, tapestries and carpets which originated in these troubled countries, he followed their heritage from the remotest regions of Afghanistan and Iraq to the metropolises of Islamabad, Kabul and Baghdad. The Carpet Wars is his intimate and compelling history of the Persian carpet - from knots and dyes to the multi-million dollar international market - as well as a sympathetic and heartfelt account of misunderstood and long-suffering peoples. He chronicles the effects of revolution and invasion on the region and on its carpet industries, still the main form of manufacturing in the Muslim world and, in parts of Afghanistan, the only one to have survived decades of war. The hardships of a carpet-weaver's life - strained eyesight, deformed fingers and stooped back - are exacerbated by poor wages and working conditions and compounded by the fact that many are children. Yet despite their difficult lives the workers Kremmer encounters are generous, humorous, hospitable and optimistic. Not that they won't rip off a tourist or two: in an industry flooded with fake antiques and monopolised by state enterprises, it's necessary to know more tricks than your average magician just to make a living. Prematurely ageing rugs by bleaching or burying them is common, as is soaking them in lye and rubbing them with coffee grounds. One enterprising weaver even uses wool from discarded British Army socks in his carpets (they fall apart rather quickly!). Carpet 'syndicates' do their best to curb these cheap imitations, governing admission to the trade and adjudicating disputes between dealers, but unsuspecting tourists often pay way over the market price. Yet there's a form of natural justice at work in the way this seemingly haphazard industry survives, and an age-old wisdom in counterbalancing the impatience of modern times. And Kremmer's expansive curiosity, open-minded attitude and love of his subject are the qualities that bring this fascinating region and its cultural history to life on the page. (Kirkus UK)
Australian journalist Kremmer (Stalking the Elephant Kings, not reviewed) rambles around Afghanistan and its recent history. The author's reporting skills transfer poorly to book-writing; a myriad of unconnected incidents cause fatigue, and excessive length sinks the entire enterprise. Kremmer begins in Kabul with the Soviet withdrawal of 1989. Mohammed Najibullah, head of Afghanistan's communist regime, tried to persuade Muslim rebels to remain loyal to him, but his security guard failed, and he sought refuge at the United Nations compound. The Taliban gradually filled the power vacuum. In 1998, Sunni Muslim militia headed by Pashtun sympathizers led the Taliban forces in their attack Toyotas into Mazar-e Sharif. Shia Muslims and Iranians who had helped the Northern militias were quickly executed. Taliban rule eliminated local militias, which benefited trade in the North by smoothing smugglers' trips from Iran and Turkmenistan to markets in Pakistan. The Taliban's religious police reintroduced harsh Islamic Shari'a punishments. Friday executions drew large crowds with Thursday radio publicity. Kremmer's driver fled to avoid punishment for his clean-shaven face. In the Koran, Mohammed placed a curse on men who created images of man or animals, so chess is banned, and in 2001, Mullah Mohammed Omar blew up the Bamiyan Buddhas, massive stone figures dating from a.d. 400. Traveling to Iraq, Bremmer finds rapid repairs from the Gulf War and meets Abdul al-Sahdi, a member of World Championship Wrestling in the West (his nickname was "The Sheikh with One Million Camels"), who has been unable to return to England for seven years. While carpet vendors are indeed omnipresent, the rug trade fails as a useful metaphor or sustaining narrative device. More appropriate is Buzkashi, a game where men on horseback score "goals" with a calf's headless corpse, players betray their teams, and the final, individual goal is to grab the largest portion of the deteriorating carcass. Tiresome. (16 pages b&w photos, not seen) (Kirkus Reviews)
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