The name ‘Carpet Concert’ could have come only to the mind of someone who did not grow up in Eastern culture, since for thousands of years the implicit context for music and life in general has been distinguished by sitting on a carpeted floor. Without another frame of reference, the elements of our native environment are ‘just the way things are’. Being creatures of habit, we cannot see the forest from the trees. As visitors in a foreign culture, we recognize some distinctions which are invisible for the locals, while other elements pass us by completely.

A ‘Carpet Concert’ could be defined simply as a musical event where people leave their shoes at the door and sit on the carpeted floor. Consistent with a lifestyle distinction functioning since the ‘dawn of civilization’ more than 5,000 years ago, a clear line is drawn between the external world, and the interior, private world.

During my travels over the years throughout rural Turkey and Iran, irrespective of the means of the household, most of the homes I have visited are furnished solely with carpets covering the entire floor and large pillows leaning against the walls. At mealtimes a large cloth is spread on the carpeted floor, and families come together to share their meals picnic style. At night, the same area becomes a bedroom, with mattresses or simple blankets spread out. Families and friends gather for celebrations including poetry and music, colleagues meet for business arrangements, food is prepared, children play; all manner of activities take place in the same multipurpose space while all are sitting on the carpeted floor.

Carpet concerts are produced all over the world:

http://www.rowanstorm.com/events.html

Television Interviews in Cairo

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