Orientalist Rug

My family had a beautiful carpet shop in Ferdowsi, one of the most famous streets in Tehran. On average a hundred people came to our shop every day, including famous people like Brigitte Bardot, Sophia Lauren and Elizabeth Taylor.

In 1975, when I was 25 years old, my brother gave me the capital to set up a shop in New Bond Street – the top place for Persian carpets. We had a successful business there for 11 years and then I’d had enough. I went to Los Angeles, got married and came back to start a business somewhere quieter, where people could learn about the art of rug making. In Kentish Town our customers know us. We don’t rush them. We don’t force them to buy. I sometimes suggest they take a rug away for a few months and then pay later.

We have rugs here from hundreds of different villages. Each rug tells a story. An expert can tell you where a rug comes from and, if he is really good, he can tell you who wove it.

I came here as an investor but after two years I received a letter from the Home Office saying I had no permission to stay. At the time fundamentalists were gaining power in Iran and my family, as Jewish Iranians, were beginning to feel an unease. It was too dangerous to go back, so I applied as a refugee. My family left everything – our shops and our properties. Since then, we have never been back to Iran.

I found out that our names are on a red list. I love London. It’s the centre of the world. But I miss the magic of Persia. It’s my dream to go back there. It makes me cry to think I never can. If the regime goes, this is my only wish.

All images courtesy Orientalist Rug