Baluchi rugs
Are usually small since nomadic people cannot use large looms; sizes up to 1.5 by two meters 4x7 feet are common, but not many beyond that. they are popular with travellers because they are fairly portable. one very common type is a prayer rug, just large enough for one person to kneel facing mecca. another is the "nomad's chest of drawers" — a bag, often beautifully decorated, that is a saddlebag when travelling and hangs on the wall of the tent when camped.
Afghan rugs
Are generally made in city workshops, mainly for the export trade. they are often large; 3x4 meters 10x12 feet is common. most are quite coarsely woven to keep costs down, but others have a fairly fine weave. if you need a big rug for the living room at a moderate price, these are likely to be your best choice.
Turkoman rugs
Often labelled "bokhara" in the western rug trade, come in all sizes and a very broad range of quality. some are woven by nomads, with the same range of sizes and types as baluchi rugs. others are made in city workshops; the best of these are almost as finely woven and almost as expensive as top-grade persian carpets. one fairly common design is the hatchli, a cross shape on a large rug.
Afghani AFN is, perhaps non-surprisingly, the currency of Afghanistan. As of December, 2009, US$ 1 equals about 48.50 Afghanis, while ⬠1 trades about 70 Afghanis.
Haggling is very much part of the tradition.
Afghanistan's most famous products are carpets. There are carpets described as "Afghan", but also at least two other carpet-weaving traditions. The Baluchi tribes in the South and West weave fine rugs, and the Turkoman tribes in the North do as well; both groups are also found in neighbouring countries. All three types tend to use geometric patterns in the design, usually with red as the background colour and with repeated elements called "guls" to make the pattern. Generally, these are not as finely woven as carpets from the cities of neighboring Iran. However, many of them are quite beautiful and their prices are assuming good haggling well below those of the top Iranian carpets.