Success! After pecking around a "learn to read Arabic" book and website, I have figured out the name of my carpet! The script says "Qum Afal-Asif", Qum being the city in Iran in which it was made (I got this from the dealer) and "Afal-Asif" is the surname of the guy who made the carpet, or as the dealer put it, the "family name" of the crafter. I will be verifying this with somebody who actually speaks Arabic, but I am pretty sure that I can name this carpet "Ibn Afal-Asif" which means "son of Afal-Asif."

My days in Dubai are winding down now - two more to go and just one more photoshoot day to work, so I'm scrounging around for things to do last minute. I'll be visiting a gawdy mall tomorrow called "Wafi City" which is one of the more luxurious (read: over the top) malls in Dubai and I will also have to buy postcards and write them and send them out tomorrow. Maybe if i sucked less, I would have the addresses of my friends to send them TO. hrm.