Carpet maker’s cuts floor rivals

With its high ceilings, enormous crystal chandeliers and marble-covered expanses, the three-floor showroom at the Cairo headquarters of Oriental Weavers has the feel of a temple to carpet making.

Under the gaze of an outsize golden mask of the boy pharaoh Tutankhamen – the company’s emblem – customers can inspect hundreds of examples of every type of woven and printed rug produced by the company.

There are choices in both wool and synthetic fibres and designs ranging from machine-woven copies of traditional Persian styles to shaggy, modern pieces in psychedelic pinks and greens.