It is the next year. Zeynel and Ayse are riding their horses, ready to leave this village for an exciting future in Istanbul. Selim is seeing them off, with a proud smile on his face.

He asks his daughter, “Promise you’ll return? Not forget your roots?”

Ayse snorts. She adjusts her braid and her fur-lined cape. “Of course, Baba! I may be ambitious, but arrogant? No way!”

Zeynel trots up close to them, giggling. “If success gets into her head, I’ll force her to come home every Eid! You have my word.”

She touches his arm, and guides him towards the path out of town. Looking back at her father, her family, her home, she tells them, “Yeah, please don’t worry. We’ll be fine.”

During their journey, as they travel between towns, ports and inns, they unveil a universe of carpets. Ayse is amazed at the beauty that is hidden within these quiet, sleepy villages, and she grows even more determined to showcase them all in that great city of Istanbul.

In a moment of contemplation, she tells Zeynel, “I never realised how much beauty and variety there is all over Ushak. Just imagine the rugs in other places. All these families are making art, virtually unnoticed.”

She smiles, realising that her dream has grown bigger.

“I want to bring their rugs to the city, one day.”