Square Meal Mats:
These square rugs are used in tents, village homes and for picnics. In
the Middle East it is universally considered shameful to waste any food. By using a
meal mat, people can make sure that none of the food falls on
the ground to be wasted. At the end of the meal, the mother or the daughter will
carefully collect all of the leftovers and crumbs in the middle of the rug, and use
them to feed pets and other animals.
Most people are very concerned about cleanliness and are always careful not to
walk on the rugs with their shoes on, even in outside settings such as picnics. In Istanbul in the summer,
you often see families sitting on patches of grass in parks or
on the side of highways, enjoying a picnic. They are also used in village
houses, where villagers sit on the floor and eat their meals. We were lucky enough to find
about twenty of these small rugs. They are almost never seen in oriental rug shops in the U.S.
Click on the photo to enlarge it!
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