Dubai - MENA Herald: The Carpet and Art Oasis 2016, a longstanding key attraction of Dubai Shopping Festival, has concluded on a highly successful note with the organisers Dubai Customs reporting that its annual attraction this year achieved sales exceeding AED 44 million.
Carpet and Art Oasis, which opened at the Dubai World Trade Centre on 20 December 2015 drew more than 10,000 visitors by the time it concluded on 15 January. Final raffle draws were held offering valuable fine handmade Afghan rugs as prizes, in addition to the daily draws that were conducted throughout the Oasis, in coordination with the Dubai Shopping Festival.
Themed ‘Dubai City of Carpets’, the 21st edition of the exhibition of the world’s largest handmade and rare carpets exhibition displayed250,000 high-end carpets at an estimated net market value of AED 2.5 billion.
Abdul Rahman Essa, Chairman of the Carpet Oasis’ Steering Committee said this year over 10,000 carpet lovers and art collectors headed to the Carpet and Art Oasis to get their hands on the rarest and most exclusive handmade carpets brought from top carpet-producing countries in the world.
“The Oasis was held over 6,000 square metres featuring 54 pavilions. Over 4,000 square meters were allocated for pavilions while the remaining area was used to hold auctions on handmade rugs and conduct workshops for visitors to see how carpets are made and how knots are tied.
“Interestingly, all the hand-woven rugs at the Chinese pavilion were sold collectively in one deal for a million dollars ,” Essa added.
The Oasis also displayed a model that depicted some of the most important achievements of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, marking the occasion of the 10th anniversary of his accession as Ruler of Dubai and UAE Vice President. Moreover, Dubai Customs also created a miniature replica of its first building that straddled the main entrance to the Oasis.
