A Fabric Printer

We had been to visit the Jameh Mosque in Esfahan and walked back through the market that connected that mosque with the main Imam Square in the center of town. It was a long walk. After we had walked about a third of the way, Reza, our guide, started asking shop owners if there were a tea house in the market where we might stop for a much-needed break. None suited him. Either they were too small to accommodate the 12 of us or they were too grungy. So he hit upon a splendid idea: find a shop selling something interesting, settle us in for the sales pitch, and pretty soon glasses of tea would appear, as is customary in those situations, to help convince us to purchase their wares. The plan worked perfectly.

The shop he found sold hand-printed cloth. There was an elderly fellow in the front of the space demonstrating how it was done; it was clear that it was hard and exacting work. He was charming, with a lovely twinkle in his eyes. Even though I didn’t believe for a second that he had produced all the cloth in the store by himself, he was fascinating to watch. No doubt there is a workshop someplace with a lot of people stamping away. But never mind, it was a lovely experience and we got our much needed rest and a cup of tea.

I bought some napkins with little tassels which I thought made them look different from the napkins you might find at Cost Plus or Pier 1. Katherine Fulton isn't so sure about the tassels. The design of the fabric includes the Persian paisley design we saw on the salad in Yazd. The paisley design comes from the outline of a cypress tree with a little wind blowing through its pointy top. Scroll down through the salads until you find the right one. You'll spot it.