Turkish delights at Sultan’s Tent

It is that time of the year when ‘Sultan’s Tent’ lands in W Doha with all its grandeur. Bringing with it a ‘grand bazaar’ of Turkish handicrafts, the Ramadan tent at the hotel once again dazzles visitors with its opulence. Designed on the traditional Sultan’s tent, it hosts a number of special cuisine stations providing the best of both Oriental and Western food complemented by live stations for sushi and seafood.  Besides a huge spread of popular Ramadan dishes, you can get at least three kinds of Turkish ice creams and other delights. And the service, attired in traditional Turkish red, will serve you tea and coffee at your table. On the big screens, the matches from Euro 2016 grab the audience’s attention as Iftar gradually transits into Suhoor that goes on till 2am.Right outside the tent is the grand bazaar showcasing traditional Turkish artefacts and handicrafts. From swords to vases, the Turks gave signature designs to everything they touched. Apart from more orthodox art forms, the Ottoman era’s artists earned a name in decorative arts. Be it silverware or gold and silver ornaments, the Ottoman artists established their own language in this form of art which incorporated features from all other civilisations they came in contact with.Handmade and modelled on original ideas from the Ottoman era, these artefacts, including silk carpets have been brought to Doha by the Pillows Store company from Istanbul, represented by their Vice-President Necat Can.“These are handmade, silver-plated and gold-plated ware. All designs are from the Ottoman empire era worked with by contemporary artists in Turkey,” Can tells Community. Established since 1997, his company exports Turkey’s renowned decorative art to 35 countries, from the US to Japan.Even the simplest of utensils are eloquently finished. A gold-plated ware used for keeping meat, rice or even fruit at the dinner table is designed tomb-shape and is not expensive. Can says considering the value of these artefacts, the price is very affordable. There are products from China, Syria and other places in the world, but the Turkish-made originals are the best, claims their owner. Again, it is brass in the main plate and it is heavy. The glass used in it is normal but the pipe is made out of pure leather with velvet wrapping on the top.Can also has jewellery, stones, pearls and beads’ ornaments on display with original ideas and designs. At his company, they take orders for customised designs in stones, silver or brass for necklaces, bracelets or rings according to people’s taste and style. They use the Ottoman-era antiques as models for all their jewellery designs, he adds.Stone jewellery is very popular particularly among the youth in Turkey. Even if the stone comes from outside, the designing on it is done in Turkey by local artists, making it unique. The Turkish traditional jewellery is unique from other countries in a way that it is lighter with more focus on detail in the designs. Then there are the carpets galore. The first to catch your eye is a light-coloured silky spread hanging half by the wall and the rest rolled out on the floor. “It is all Turkish. We have three kinds of carpets; silk-on-silk, wool-on-silk and wool-on-wool on display. They are all hand-made, hand-spun and dyed. One piece of 2X3m would not take less than eight months to make,” informs Can.He has carpets that can be spread under your feet in the drawing rooms and the more fancy ones that are hung on the walls as decoration pieces. The decorative art in contemporary Turkey, Can says, is very big. Thousands of people from all over the world visit their country every year and love the types of artefacts which have both usage and exhibition value.