Karakul Pelt (also known as astrakhan fur)

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Joseph Goldstein, Niche Trade in Lamb Pelts Offers Afghans Economic Lifeline. New York Times, Apr 24, 2015.
www.nytimes.com/2015/04/24/world ... afghan-economy.html

Quote:

"Most Western countries import little from Afghanistan other than carpets and opium. But Finnish fur buyers’ growing regard for the velvety pelts of Afghan karakul lambs has made them [buyers] this country’s [Afghanistan's] largest export destination in the West for any product, according to Afghanistan’s official export statistics. Last year, Finland, a powerhouse in the global fur trade, imported nearly a half-million Afghan lamb pelts, auctioning them off to fashion houses * * * (It is often marketed as astrakhan fur in those quarters.)

“It is not only European sensibilities that are offended by the killing of the lambs. The Taliban, when they were in power in Afghanistan, tried to clamp down on the trade as well, particularly in the cruelest top end of it: pelts from lambs that have not yet been born, requiring the killing of pregnant ewes to harvest. Experts estimate they make up less than 10 percent of the pelts sold.

“While most lamb pelts from Afghanistan and other Central Asian states are shipped abroad, a few of the best are sent to Kabul, where furriers style them into the memorable peaked hats former President Hamid Karzai made famous. A silvery or tan karakul hat can sell for more than $1,000.

“The karakul sheep’s fur was once so widely admired that President Theodore Roosevelt [president 1901- Mar 4, 1909] personally involved himself in efforts to import a karakul flock to the United States in 1909. But despite years of trying, American ranchers and the Department of Agriculture struggled to raise a flock with the same quality of fur as those in Central Asia.

“Although karakul has a far smaller share of the fur market than fox and mink, it has been growing in recent years, said Kari Huotari, a manager at Saga furs, the major Finnish fur auction operation. In the last quarter of 2014, Afghanistan exported $3.6 million worth of karakul pelts to Finland.

Note:
(a)
(i) For karakul sheep, see Karakul sheep
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karakul_sheep

Quote:

"(named after Qorako‘l, a city in Bukhara Province in Uzbekistan) is a breed of domestic sheep which originated in Central Asia. Some archaeological evidence points to Karakul sheep being raised there continuously since 1400 BC.

"renowned for their ability to forage and thrive under extremely harsh living conditions. They can survive severe drought conditions because of a special quality they have, storing fat in their tails.

(ii) For pronunciation, see
karakul (n): "often capitalized :  any of a breed of hardy fat-tailed sheep of central Asian origin with a narrow body and coarse wiry fur" (an illustration of the sheep with horns: “Ewes are generally hornless, but not necessarily”--a quotation from the Web)
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/karakul

choi

(b) Karakul pelt “is often marketed as astrakhan fur in those quarters.
(i) Astrakhan (disambiguation)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrakhan_(disambiguation)
("Astrakhan, Russian name of newborn karakul sheep's pelts, and hats and coats made from these pelts")
(ii) For the pronunciation of the pelt called astrakhan ("a" in lower case), see
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/astrakhan
(iii) Astrakhan
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrakhan
(a city and "the administrative center of Astrakhan Oblast. The city lies on two banks of the Volga River, close to where it discharges into the Caspian Sea at an altitude of 28 meters (92 ft) below sea level [Because Caspian Sea is below sea level]"
(iv) One of its ancient predecessor was
Astrakhan Khanate
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrakhan_Khanate
(1466–1556; Its khans were the patrilineal descendants of Toqa Temür, the thirteenth son of Jochi [simplified Chinese: 术赤; traditional Chinese: 朮赤] and grandson of Genghis Khan; Its location at the mouth of the Volga, straddling important trade routes, allowed it to accumulate significant wealth, but also attracted the attention of neighbouring states and nomadic tribes, subjecting the khanate to numerous invasions)
(v) Astrakhan. Encyclopaedia Britannica, undated
www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/39917/Astrakhan
(in Russia; is situated in the delta of the Volga River, 60 miles (100 km) from the Caspian Sea; Astrakhan was formerly the capital of a Tatar khanate, a remnant of the Golden Horde)

Quote: "Situated on caravan and water routes, it developed from a village into a large trading centre. * * * Astrakhan fur, from the karakul lamb of Central Asia, is so named because it was first brought to Russia by Astrakhan traders.
(vi)
(A) For toponymy, see
Isaac Taylor, Names and Their Histories; Alphabetically arranged as a handbook of historical geography and topographical nomenclature. London: Rivington, Percival & Co, 1896, at page 53
books.google.com/books?id=cNkNAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA53&lpg=PA53&dq=name+meaning+city+Astrakhan&source=bl&ots=AqHlD4ZnjH&sig=j-YQviHCEo9hloH-W2GkeOLFwsw&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Y4U6VbuMCaOSsQST7IHwCQ&ved=0CDMQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=name%20meaning%20city%20Astrakhan&f=false
("Astrakhan, a city at the mouth of the Volga, bers a name usually explained as Persian, meaning the 'city of the star.'  But Astrakhan or Astorokan is a modern corruption of the Kalmuk name ADJA-Tarkhan, meaning the city of Hagji Terkhan, a chief or khan of the Golden Horde, who, having performed the pilgrimage to Mecca, had acquired the title of Hadji, or 'holy man' ")
(B) For Kalmuk, see Kalmyk people
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalmyk_people
(is the name given to the Oirats in Russia, whose ancestors migrated from Dzungaria in 1607 [driven westward by First Khan of the Altan Khanate--not Manchus (which would establish Qing dynasty in 1644]; Today they form a majority in the autonomous Republic of Kalmykia[, whose neighbor on the eastern border is Astrakhan Oblast])


(c) “The hub of the Afghan-Finnish fur trade is the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif. Fur traders gather here each March and April with stacks of pelts of the karakul breed of sheep purchased from shepherds across the countryside. * * * The talk often turns to Finland, which, for Afghan fur traders, is another name for the big leagues. Only traders who amass 20,000 pelts generally go on to Helsinki’s fur auctions. Those who have been there describe to those who have not a country of unimaginably cold winters, of people who refuse to take bribes, and of angry animal rights activists. ‘They started shouting: “Go back home! Why do you kill these animals?” ‘ Amin Tawakaly, a second-generation Afghan fur trader, recalled, describing the protesters who once confronted him outside his Helsinki hotel. ‘They were shouting in Finnish, so I had to ask what they were saying.’ Newborn karakul lambs are valued above other breeds for the luster and tight, soft curls of their fur, which form mesmerizing patterns and curlicues. But within a day or two of birth, a lamb’s fur grows woolier and loses its value.”
(i) Mazar-i-Sharif
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazar-i-Sharif
(The name "Mazar-e Sharif" means "Noble Shrine", a reference to the large, blue-tiled sanctuary and mosque in the center of the city known as the Shrine of Hazrat Ali or the Blue Mosque)
(ii) For both definition and images of curlicue, you will have to check a dictionary AND search images.google.com. Only after you do both, will you understand its meaning.

curlicue (n; curly + cue a braid of hair [a definition not found in this dictionary of Oxford]): "a fancifully curved or spiral figure : FLOURISH”
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/curlicue

(d) “In Mazar-i-Sharif, most of the pelts pass through the marble-floored office of Sayed Mohammad Sultani, the largest Afghan fur exporter. With a karakul hat perched on his head and wearing a blazer over a flowing shalwar kameez, Mr Sultani kept a close watch on the sorting process on a recent morning. * * * ‘The Finnish people are very honest,’ Mr Sultani said. He reached that conclusion through an experiment of sorts: ‘One time I offered to bribe the person in charge’ of the karakul auction in Finland for his customer list, he recounted, trying to cut out the auction house so he might sell directly to the customers. ‘I offered him 100,000 euros,’ Mr Sultani recounted, about $108,000. An impressed note entered his tale as he recalled that the Finnish auctioneer refused.”
(i) shalwar kameez
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shalwar_kameez
(section 3 Etymology and history)
(ii)
(A) note (n):
"1b :  a written symbol used to indicate duration and pitch of a tone by its shape and position on the staff
* * *
2b :  something (as an emotion or disposition) like a note in tone or resonance <a note of sadness> <end on a high note>”
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/note
(B) note (n):
"4: A single tone of definite pitch made by a musical instrument or the human voice  <the last notes of the symphony died away>
4.1: A written sign representing the pitch and duration of a musical note."
www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/note