Our family lives in Turkey, and while we were furnishing our home, I picked up this rug from a second-hand furniture store in Istanbul (far from the tourist rug shops). It cost $30 two years ago. It's grown on me, and I'd love to know more about where it might be from. Is it worth shipping to the States when we return? It needs a good cleaning and the selvage on one side needs to be repaired. Thanks for any information you can pass along.

**5' 8"** (my math skills are a little rusty!)

Excellent! Thanks for the quick reply. Any (rough) estimates on value? I'm trying to convince my spouse it's worth bringing back with us. It is made of incredibly thick wool and weighs quite a lot for its size.

Hmmm...excellent question! I may never be able to afford to purchase another oriental rug of this size, so this is my opportunity to own something like this. I love the look, feel and history of handmade rugs. I'm not sure how challenging it is to bring a rug like this along on an airplane as checked luggage, since I'm sure it's quite pricey to ship. It's a bit sentimental, but the colors are not something I would pick if money were no object. Maybe I should just invest in some therapy and leave the rug ;-)

If I do leave it behind and sell it, a rough idea on price would be helpful anyway. Thanks again for your help.

Hand-knotted rug made in India with a Persian Heris design, cotton foundation, and a wool pile. It will cost you just about a thousand dollars to purchase something like this in the U.S., so I would be willing to pay a few hundred dollars and have it shipped over if I were you.