Turkish Coffee Culture “A Cup of Coffee Commits One to Forty Years of Friendship”
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TURKISH COFFEE CULTURE “A CUP OF COFFEE COMMITS ONE TO FORTY YEARS OF FRIENDSHIP” by Beşir Ayvazoğlu REPUBLIC OF TURKEY MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND TOURISM PUBLICATIONS © Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism General Directorate of Libraries and Publications 3315 Handbook Series 15 ISBN: 978-975-17-3567-6 www.kulturturizm.gov.tr e-mail: [email protected] Translated by Melis Şeyhun Production Ankara Form Ltd. Şti. OTO SAN. SİT. 2562.Sokak No: 18-20-22 Şaşmaz/ Ankara 5FM QCY t'BLT Graphic Design Demet Kılıç Tekin Tekiner Bind Balkan Bookbinder Ind. Co. Photographs Sıtkı FIRAT Topkapı Palace Museum Library Yıldız Palace Archives Ankara Etnoghraphy Museum Archives Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) City Museum Collection Chester Beatty Library, Dublin National Palaces Collections Mustafa Çetin Tükek Yusuf Çağlar First Edition Print run: 5000. Printed in Ankara in 2011. Ayvazoğlu, Beşir Turkish Coffee Culture/ Beşir Ayvazoğlu; Trans. Melis Şeyhun.- Ankara: Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 2011. 160 p.: col. ill.; 20 cm.- (Ministry of Culture and Tourism Publications; 3315. Handbook Series of General Directorate of Libraries and Publications: 15) ISBN: 978-975-17-3567-6 Selected Bibliography I. title. II. Seyhun,Melis. III. Series. 641.877 CONTENTS FOREWORD .............................................................................................................5 I FROM YEMEN TO ISTANBUL ...................................................................9 II COFFEE AND MYSTICISM.........................................................................15 III COFFEE IS THE EXCUSE ...............................................................................23 IV TAHMISHANE ......................................................................................................31 V WATER OF LIFE ...................................................................................................35 VI FROM MORTAR TO CUP ..........................................................................39 VII THE COFFEE CUP .............................................................................................53 VIII COFFEE CEREMONY AT THE PALACE ..........................................59 IX COFFEE SERVICE AT OTTOMAN MANSIONS ........................67 X COFFEE IN DOMESTIC LIFE .....................................................................71 XI COFFEE ADDICTION .....................................................................................77 XII BRAZIER AND ASH COFFEE....................................................................87 XIII COFFEE SHORTAGES .....................................................................................93 XIV FORTUNE IN A CUP ...................................................................................101 XV COFFEE SCENES FROM OLD ISTANBUL ...................................111 XVI LOCAL COFFEEHOUSES ..........................................................................121 XVII KIRAATHANE ....................................................................................................129 XVIII ENTERTAINMENT AT THE COFFEEHOUSE ............................135 XIX LITERARY COFFEEHOUSES ...................................................................143 XX FROM COFFEE TO TEA ............................................................................149 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...............................................................................................155 FOREWORD hen I received an offer to write a book on “Turkish Coffee Culture” I wanted to review the literature before I began writing. It was enough merely to peruse the bibliographies of the books Win my library to intimidate myself. It appeared that almost everything had already been written on the history of coffee and coffeehouses. There was one thing I could do: base my work predominantly on literary texts. This was indeed a difficult undertaking: since it was impossible to review the literature in such a short time, I was obliged to content myself with what I could access and strive to produce a text that was different from its precedents. My only reassurance was a folder I had put together over the years due to my keen interest in the history and culture of coffee with the hope that I would, one day, write a few lines on this delicious drink, to which I was “addicted” since my younger days. I piled all the coffee books I could find in bookstores on my desk along with the ones in my own library. On the day I felt ready, after having leafed through the pages for a while, I made myself a strong cup of Turkish coffee with little sugar, recited a “Bismillah” and settled in front of the computer. While I am at it, I must say that a well-made coffee is indescribably delicious and brings clarity to the mind. You feel, already at your first sip, that you can write better poetry, overcome your writer’s block, or conclude your experiment in the best possible way. While drinking Turkish coffee from a small cup brings profound wisdom, if you are to spend considerable mental effort, then it’s best that you own a large cup without a handle. I would not advise you to drink it sweetened; after all, the older generation did not take sweetened coffee drinkers seriously. 5 Still, I find adding a little sugar is just as respectable having an unsweetened cup of coffee. After I took a sip of my coffee, I began to write. It was a delightful journey across the long road that began from Abyssinia, reached Istanbul via Yemen, the Hejaz, and Egypt, and extended all across the world on diverging paths. Quite frankly, I spent little time between Yemen and Istanbul. Nor did I wander off to the roads originating from Istanbul. My real concern was coffee’s adventure in Istanbul. In fact, the book opens with the incident during which the first ships bringing coffee to Istanbul were sunk at the Port of Tophane upon a decree issued by Sheikh-ul Islam Ebussuud Efendi, continues with brief flashbacks and a summary of the adventures of coffee until it reaches Istanbul, and finally casts anchor in this historic city. Although coffee was met with considerable opposition as soon as it arrived in Istanbul, it eventually established its reign in the city, and managed to convert the majority of its opponents. The intoxicating smell, delectable taste, and other redeeming–stimulant and anti-exhaustion– qualities are not the only factors behind this success; coffee has an astonishing skill in bringing people together. What troubled the Ottoman authorities of the time were the discussions that took place in places – such as coffeehouses– where coffee would be consumed. Those who issued decrees or fatwas to abolish coffee were perhaps drinking their bitter coffees in large cups. However, it was impossible to uphold the prohibitions and succeed at banning coffee altogether; coffee had already entered the Palace and assumed its place in protocol, conquering the castle from the inside, so to speak. The last serious –and even bloody– bans were issued during the reign of Sultan Murad IV. In the ensuing years, rather than closing down the coffeehouses, the state preferred to keep them under close surveillance with the help of spies. Prohibiting coffee as a drink was inconceivable, since by then, coffee, instead of blood, was circulating through people’s veins. Foreign travelers have amazedly observed how coffee became an indispensible part of the life style in Turkey. The average Turk began the day with “kahvaltı”—the Turkish word for breakfast, which is derived from “kahve-altı” or pre-coffee. In other words, rather than having breakfast, the Turks had a quick bite in the morning just to drink coffee. The day still begins with “kahvaltı” in Turkey; however, tea has replaced coffee by now. The coffee shortages that began during World War I and continued intermittently in the ensuing years, and, even worse, the addition of different kinds of dry legumes and grains such as chickpeas and barley to coffee caused the public to shy away from coffee and turn to tea instead. Today, tea is more commonly opted in coffeehouses. While 6 coffee more or less maintains its place in traditional ceremonies such as entertaining guests, asking for a girl’s hand in marriage, betrothals, and engagements, one can no longer speak of “committing to a friendship of forty years.” There is more theine than caffeine circulating in our bloodstream. Nonetheless, there still exist serious aficionados who would never trade the taste of Turkish coffee with anything else. Their primary concern is the failure to uphold traditions and maintain the standards of making Turkish coffee in its native land, the absence of establishments that pay special attention to serving their customers Turkish coffee in its purest form, and the disappearance of Turkish coffee from the menus of certain hotels, cafés, etc. Ending with a brief chapter on the transition from coffee to tea, this book is written to once again draw attention to the rich culture and literature that has evolved around coffee, which was once the symbol of the Turkish way of living. All the while, the writing process required the consumption of hundreds of cups of Turkish coffee… I am indebted to my wife, who prepared my coffee and awaited my return from the long journey I embarked upon in the ‘dark’ world of coffee in my study for hours on end. I am also sustained by many friends who shed light to my path with their knowledge: I would like to extend my gratitude to Prof. Dr. İnci Enginün, Mustafa Çetin Tükek—a