21Reviews1Q&A
Reviews
Traveler rating
- 10
- 4
- 7
- 0
- 0
Traveler type
Time of year
Language
More
Selected filters
- Filter
- English
Popular mentions
Recently we toured the wonderful ‘Five Stans’. I had read ‘A Carpet Ride to Khiva’ and was really looking forward to visiting this unique city and among many attractions, the Khiva Silk Carpet Workshop. We had spent the morning looking at the stunningly beautiful mosques, madrassas, minarets and the Old Khan’s Palace, each with various patterns of tiles, particularly in turquoise and blues. The carpet workshop was even more interesting than l was expecting. The carpets are beautifully made and many were copied from the tiles in Khiva. There were carpets of varying colours and sizes, all different. I saw the most beautiful blue carpet but didn’t buy it then. We met the ladies who were weaving the carpets— they were so friendly and happy. It was fascinating watching them at work. We met Madrim’s son and his wife, who both spoke English, and were very helpful. After l left, l decided to buy the blue carpet. This was to prove most difficult, as many Australian banks will not transfer money to Uzbekistan, even with swift codes and account numbers and evidence that l had actually been to the workshop. Eventually l found a bank able to do the transfer and the carpet arrived very well folded and wrapped, the outer package being a calico bag that had been sewn to fit and then sealed in wax. The carpet is so beautiful and it was certainly worth pursuing the payment options. The only regret is that l didn’t see the suzani workshop. The suzanis that we did see in the carpet workshop were, like the carpets, exquisite! After reading the book and knowing the difficulties experienced when setting up this workshop, it really was so exciting to see how well it has progressed.…
Read more
Date of experience: September 2019
Helpful
The experience is made more exciting if you have read the book, but even if you haven't, this is a great place to observe the exquisite crafts of the area, and to purchase both rugs and suzani. I bought a gorgeous silk suzani for a bedcover, and found the price to be less than in the other silk road cities, and the quality of the handmade silk piece was just superb.…
Read more
Date of experience: November 2019
Helpful
Was taken to the rug workshop / factory by our tour guide as we were after a silk rug . We were intending on buying in Bukhara but this place was smaller with great rugs and we did buy silk carpet. Not sure if they represent good value for money but I think it was good price for a beautiful silk rug which our guide assured us was handmade and silk . It was not cheap at originally $5000 US but managed to get the 2nd price down to $4000 US. for a rug size of 2.5 x 1.5 meters. And they fold up into a very small package suitable for hand luggage . The rugs in Khiva are different to those in Bukhara as Khiva the designs are more floral as is the style of the area I have been told . The rug factory in Bukhara is very big with a loads of silk and camel wool rugs but is very expensive in comparison and they are not prepared to move much at all in price and there silk rugs are very expensive but also higher in knot density and the design is more ornate . For a rug our size we bought at Bukhara you will be looking at $8 - 14,000 US for silk . If you do visit Khiva with the intention of buying it would be helpful to take someone with you to translate as they speak no English. Our guide translated for us which was great . They also take visa and will post the rug back if needed. …
Read more
Date of experience: October 2019
Helpful
Kawana Travellers wrote a review May 2018
Kawana Island, Australia2,026 contributions218 helpful votes
I loved visiting the workshop. The staff are really friendly and the ladies making the carpets and suzani are very talented. Having read about the workshop it lived up to my expectations and was a delight to visit.
Read more
Date of experience: May 2018
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
We were excited about visiting the Khiva Silk Workshop having read the book "A Carpet Ride to Khiva." Unfortunately our experience was underwhelming. We arrived mid-afternoon on a weekday and there was nothing going on. We had read that during the tourist season, someone would be available to show visitors around and explain the process of carpet making at the workshop, but that did not happen. Finally a young gentleman came out and tried to help. He put on the lights in the small sales room and basically we went through the products ourselves. He did not speak much English and so was not able to answer any questions regarding the process. We looked through some binders describing the silk harvesting and dyeing process ourselves. When we came outside into the small courtyard, a group of tourists had arrived. A couple of cell phone calls were made by the young man and suddenly a few women appeared and began to work with the bundles of what must have been silk near the door. A couple more workers went into the weaving rooms and started working. When the group of tourists left after taking a few pictures, the women stopped working on the silk bundles and disappeared. One weaver stopped working and left. Just as magically as they had appeared, they left! We were surprised and disappointed.…
Read more
Date of experience: May 2015
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
