Whether you’re looking for hand or machine made, single or double knotted, cotton, wool or silk, you’re sure to find a good regional carpet in the capital. Our favourite shops:

1: Persian House of Carpets and Antiques You’ll find nothing but the nicest at this swanky shop in Abu Dhabi Mall. The intricacy of some of these designs will surely take your breath away, but so will the astronomical prices.

2: Oriental Carpet House Tucked away on the ground floor of Corniche Towers’ Building D, this well-known shop has a ton of stunning pieces from around the Middle East – and the people there are willing to work with you on prices. Perhaps the best in town for selection and integrity (meaning they won’t sell you rubbish at inflated prices).

3: Center of Original Iranian Carpets Also in the same block but easier to find is this shop. Originally founded in the early 20th century by Ali Asghar Hosseinzadeh of Tehran, it specialises in (you guessed it) Persian carpets ranging from AED 2,000 to 20,000.

4: The Carpet Souk If you can find the street of carpet shops on Mena Road near the port, you’ll want to know your stuff—while some have amazing, historic carpets at good prices, others are willing to overcharge for poor-quality work. Women shopping alone should also keep their distance from occasionally over-friendly male attention.

5: Carrefour Yes, it’s low rent. But you might be surprised by Carrefour’s selection and prices of regional style carpets. So they probably aren’t the handmade wedding gift of the former Shah; but if you just want something nice and authentic for your living room, Carrefour is worth a look.

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