English
An essential part of any visit to Istanbul is experiencing the thick aromatic charm of Turkish coffee, or kahve, as it is known in Turkey. As you sit in the exotic city streets, sipping the strong liquid from brightly decorated little cups, you will be tasting the source of a long cultural tradition that has grown since coffee was introduced to the Ottoman Empire in the 1500s.
Turkish coffee differs from European and Antipodean brews in the way it is served. Boiled slowly in a little pot called a cezve, and often spiced with cinnamon or cardamom, the result is a fragrant cup of half-liquid and half silty-grind (that you don’t drink).
Traditionally, young girls would be taught the art of coffee preparation for the eventual day that potential husbands would come to ask for their hand. Folklore tells that if the coffee was served salty, a girl was not impressed by her intended, and if the coffee was served extra sweet, she agreed with the proposal. It is also told that the judgement would be passed in the opposite direction, with a girl’s suitability as a wife depending heavily on the taste and presentation on the brew.
Coffee has also long served an important role in the everyday life of Turks, being a pillar of hospitality, a sign of well-wishes and an ice-breaking beverage before that start a serious discussion. It is also served when people meet with friends, when men play the nationally-loved game of backgammon and when women gather to eat sweets.
Evolved from these social gatherings, is the game of telling fortunes in the remaining coffee grind. Reading a fortune in Turkish coffee residue is a specific process of tipping the cup, spinning it, passing it in a certain way and interpreting the patterns that are left behind. Once a tradition that was common in most households, modern-day Istanbullus tend to use coffee granules in a more light-hearted way, reading their friends’ fortune with playful jest as they sit in a city cafe and tell each other stories about dreams, relationships and money.
Being the entrepreneurial city that Istanbul is, there is little surprise that modern businesses have taken hold of this coffee-loving, fortune-reading trend and employed fortune tellers in cafes. The modern Istanbul suburb of Beyoglu, with its labyrinth-like streets and designer-centric boutiques, hosts scores of little cafes that have embraced new with the traditional coffee culture, offering fortune reading to intrigued tourists and superstitious customers.
To find your way into the cup-staring presence of such fortune tellers, take the tram from Sultanahmet, across the river and then walk up the hill towards the iconic Galata Tower, which sits amongst the vibrant suburb of Beyoglu. In the little streets that weave around the tower, you will smell coffee brewing and traditional Turkish cafes patiently waiting to be consumed. If you keep heading up the main thoroughfare, you’ll end up in the famous Taksim Square, but before you find the madness of Istiklal Caddesi, make sure you explore the side alleys, which are home to many fortune-telling cafes, artisan workshops, art galleries and many more coffee-compatible delights.
Sitting on street level, among the charming shops, cafes and apartments in Istanbul you can smell the aroma of traditional coffee brewing, taste the history held in the cup and learn about Turkish culture that has survived the ages.
