Khorasan Rugs: Our Story

The story of Khorasan Rugs is one of passion and a deep-rooted love for the exquisite artistry of Afghan and Oriental rugs. It is a family story that begins in Kabul, finds its home in London, and eventually echoes throughout the United Kingdom.

Our journey began in 1993 with Assadullah Alkozi, the founder of Khorasan Rugs , leading expert in Afghan and Oriental rugs, and my father. Born in Kabul, my family moved to London in 1993, where I was born a year later in 1994 in London. Finding himself in a new country with new cultures, language and people, my father set out to find employment which proved difficult. However, after passing by a small shop selling Afghan and Persian carpets, my father saw something very familiar and full of past memories. Having inquired about job opportunities, he was referred to a wholesale seller of Afghan and Persian rugs in North London - the Oriental Carpet Centre (OCC).

Here, my father worked as a labourer but was also given three handmade Afghan rugs by his boss to get him running and start selling for himself. Slowly but gradually, my father began to make sales and grew his collection of Afghan rugs, purchasing them from rug sellers in Afghanistan who were also his old friends. Sadly, my father’s boss passed away after some time. After this, my father became a fully independent seller of Afghan rugs and obtained his own storage warehouse at the OCC. He made, and continues to make yearly trips to Kabul and Peshawar where he personally chooses new stocks of Afghan carpets by the hundreds.

When I was young I was always around my father when he was working at the OCC, usually playing football with my brother in the warehouse and teasing the two huge German Shepherd guard dogs. However, now we have both been closely supporting my father in this business and promoting our quality products.

Fast forward to the present time, we have collected over 3000 handmade Afghan rugs of a multitude of colours, sizes and designs, and supply many retail stores and sellers in the UK, as well as private households. We can confidently claim to have the largest collection of Afghan rugs in the UK, particularly Kilim and Mushwani rugs. whereas other sellers predominantly have Persian and other Oriental rugs, we overwhelmingly sell rugs that were made in Afghanistan, despite being of Persian, Azerbaijani, Uzbek, Baluch, or Caucasian design.

In the Afghan culture, rugs and carpets are intrinsically linked to family, of childhood memories and cherished family gatherings. We have always been fascinated with Afghan carpets which we see more than just a piece of woven material; they are an embodiment of changing colours, of history, of an art form that tells stories in intricate patterns and hues.

Buying a handmade Afghan rug is not just about improving the aesthetics of your home, it is also about embracing an ancient and traditional aspect of Central Asian history and culture. They are timeless luxury pieces that will last your lifetime and can be passed onto further generations.