Since the dates when coffee and tea entered our lives, they have become a part of our daily and social life. Especially when starting each morning, our first priority is to consume coffee or tea. The journey of coffee in our lands began much earlier than tea and has continued. A culture has formed around coffee. Tea, on the other hand, is a relatively new beverage for Turkish society.
Over time, coffee, which has become our most basic food item and an important part of our social life, has a historical development that needs to be examined in all aspects. To the extent that the arrival of coffee to the Ottoman geography and the establishment of coffeehouses, which were places where coffee was consumed, in the capital city Istanbul, have brought about a significant change in Ottoman social life. Coffeehouses have been the places where the pulse of Turkish intellectuals was felt until recent times. Our intellectual tradition has developed and gained a new identity thanks to these coffeehouses. Especially coffeehouses like Babıâli, Küllük, and Marmara in Beyazıd, as well as places like Lebon and Baylan, have been the homes of our intellectuals for many years. Many famous scholars, poets, and various intellectuals have established a second university or academy in these places.
Coffee, originating in Yemen, first gained fame in its own homeland through historical processes. In the early periods, it is known that coffee beans were used in making dough and, in addition to that, the beans were swallowed, especially by Sufis, to stay awake during long nights of dhikr (spiritual practice) and worship. There are various accounts of the first discovery of coffee beans. According to the widely known first account, an Ethiopian shepherd observes that his goats are very lively and active, and when he investigates the reason for these unusual behaviors in animals, he discovers that they are eating brown beans from a tree. Upon this discovery, in order to confirm the power of the beans, he consumes these brown beans himself. He feels alertness and energy in his mind and body functions. Another widely known account states that it was discovered by the founder of the Shadhili order, Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili, and this seed was frequently used during Sufi rituals.
Coffee’s entry into the Ottoman Empire is seen especially in the 16th century, particularly in the 1550s. The first time coffee was introduced to the Ottoman palace was when the governor of Yemen, Özdemir Pasha, brought coffee to the Ottoman palace. However, according to the historian Solakzâde, the arrival of coffee in Istanbul is said to have been through Yavuz Sultan Selim’s Egyptian campaign, especially through pilgrims going to Hajj. Particularly with the first arrival of coffee during this period, it is known that coffeehouses were opened in Ottoman territories. The first coffeehouse in Ottoman Istanbul was opened by two Arabs named Hikmet and Şems in Tahtakale between 1554 and 1555. The fact that the number of coffeehouses was expressed in hundreds in the famous travel writer Evliya Çelebi’s famous work is evidence of how rapidly coffee and coffeehouse culture spread and developed in Ottoman territories.
Towards the end of the reign of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent, there were around fifty coffeehouses in Istanbul. In the records compiled in 1792, this number is stated to be 1631, and in 1821, it is said to have reached 2076.
Coffeehouses quickly gained popularity in Ottoman society, and coffeehouses began to open in many neighborhoods and districts of Istanbul. In Ottoman Istanbul, Mahalle Coffeehouses, Meddah Coffeehouses, Semâ Coffeehouses, Craftsmen Coffeehouses, Tulumbacı Coffeehouses, and Janissary Coffeehouses were known to exist. It is known that the first established coffeehouses in the Ottoman Empire were mostly located near mosques, and people waiting for prayer times would spend time there.
Each coffeehouse had a different function. In Meddah and Semâ coffeehouses, meddah (storytelling) and sema (Sufi whirling) performances were often held, while in tulumbacı (firefighters) and janissary coffeehouses, members of those professions would gather. These coffeehouses became important social and political spaces in Istanbul. It is known that Meddah and Semâ Coffeehouses had an impact on social and cultural life, and Janissary Coffeehouses were centers of activity during Janissary uprisings.
Coffeehouses became the most important places where intellectuals would gather, share their views on state and national matters, and spread their ideas. Since the ideas and opinions expressed in coffeehouses could not be controlled or verified, often thoughts that could cause turmoil in society would spread in the form of rumors. Especially, coffeehouses provided an opportunity for criticizing the sultan and the bureaucracy and for the spread of dissenting ideas. Indeed, the “Janissary coffeehouses,” where the rebellious attempts of the Janissaries and activities against the state were organized and where contrary views were expressed, are significant in showing the dangerous dimension that coffeehouses had reached during that period in Ottoman history.
For this reason, negative opinions about coffeehouses were nurtured primarily by the sultans and the Şeyhülislams (the highest religious authorities). Over time, bans were imposed on coffee, tobacco, and coffeehouses. Especially, Şeyhülislams wrote about their negative opinions on coffee and tobacco usage in their works and issued fatwas (religious decrees) regarding the consumption of coffee and tobacco. The most famous Şeyhülislams, such as Ebu Suud Efendi, considered drinking coffee to be forbidden, as evidenced by his fatwa stating, “Drinking things roasted to the degree of coal is forbidden.”
In the 17th century, Kâtib Çelebi stated that there was almost a coffeehouse on every street corner in Istanbul. There were serious debates over the evilness of coffeehouses, especially by representatives of the Kadızâdeli movement. Eventually, Sultan Murad IV, in 1633, ordered the closure of all coffeehouses in Istanbul and banned coffee consumption.
Although coffee and tobacco usage were banned by the sultans and religious authorities, people were not prevented from going to coffeehouses and using these products. Coffeehouses continued their activities in secret for a long time. Especially, many shops had coffeehouses at the back, while appearing as something else in the front, and people continued to consume coffee and tobacco.
As mentioned earlier, there were various types of coffeehouses, especially catering to specific professions and social groups. However, the survival of coffeehouses as reading rooms, particularly known as “kıraathane,” can be traced back to the period after the Tanzimat (reform) era. From this period onwards, coffeehouses in the Ottoman geography turned into various reading rooms and knowledge centers. They began to be frequented by Tanzimat intellectuals. The first known example of such coffeehouses was the “Sarafim Kıraathanesi,” which was opened on Divanyolu in 1857. This coffeehouse provided newspapers and magazines for its customers and later began selling books. Additionally, during the blessed nights of Ramadan, the Sarafim Kıraathanesi became a place where literary and scholarly debates took place. Many poems, novels, stories, and anecdotes about life in the Sarafim Kıraathanesi have been compiled into books. Many magazines that made significant contributions to our literature and intellectual world originated from here. A popular magazine even bore the name “Küllük,” inspired by the coffeehouse itself. In the statement accompanying the publication of this magazine, the following was mentioned: “Küllük is a coffeehouse; let’s not just say it’s a coffeehouse. Coffeehouses are arenas of men; if something happens there, it is heard. Girls laugh and sing in front of the coffeehouse. Küllük is the name of a coffeehouse, as we said; Küllük is a direction.”
Due to its intellectual atmosphere, it was also referred to as the “Academy and Muallimler Bahçesi (Teachers’ Garden).” This coffeehouse, which existed until the 1950s, was frequented by figures such as Necip Fazıl Kısakürek, Peyami Safa, Reşad Nuri Güntekin, Mükrimin Halil Yınanç, Rıfkı Melûl Meriç, Ali Canip Yöntem, Hilmi Ziya Ülken, Kilisli Rıfat Bilge, Kenan Hulusi Koray, İsmail Hakkı Uzunçarşılı, Sadri Ethem Ertem, Nurullah Ataç, Abidin Dino, Rıfat Ilgaz, Cahit Sıtkı Tarancı, İbnülemin Mahmud Kemal İnal, Hasan İzzettin Dinamo, Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu, Neyzen Tevfik, Abdülhak Hâmid, Fuat Köprülü, Nurullah Ataç, Sait Faik Abasıyanık, Orhan Veli Kanık, İbrahim Alaeddin Gövsa, Agâh Sırrı Levend, Midhat Cemal Kuntay, Yusuf Ziya Ortaç, Orhan Seyfi Orhon, Ahmet Muhip Dıranas, Hâlit Fahri Ozansoy, Reşat Ekrem Koçu, Sabri Esat Siyavuşgil, Hilmi Ziya Ülken, Mehmet Kaplan, Ali Nihat Tarlan, Mükrimin Halil Yınanç, Sadri Ertem, Agâh Sırrı Levent, Sıtkı Akozan, Arif Dino, Asaf Halet Çelebi, Abdulbaki Gölpınarlı, Salah Birsel, Özdemir Asaf, Neyzen Tevfik, İlhan Berk, and many more of our writers.
In a time when there were no written and visual press facilities that facilitated communication, Ottoman intellectuals were able to spread their views through coffeehouses. With the establishment of coffeehouses, communication among Ottoman intellectuals became easier, and intellectual activities gained momentum. Especially, one of the most important reasons for the versatility and initiative of Ottoman intellectuals during the Tanzimat period was undoubtedly the existence of coffeehouses. As the coffeehouse culture gradually drifted away from tradition, our intellectual tradition also suffered from a decline. Despite the fact that our communication opportunities have increased due to the developing technology today, we are still deprived of an environment that can continue the intellectual mission that coffeehouses undertook in history.
