Did you know?

Turkish Coffee, qahwah

Did you know that the first coffee shop was opened in by an Ottoman Ibrahim Pecevi in Istanbul in the year 1555. There were many storing involving the introduction of coffee in Istanbul in the late 1500’s, however, there were no records of them.  The coffeehouses spread into Mecca (city in Saudi Arabia), Damascus (city in Syria), and Cairo (city in Egypt). When these coffee shops first opened, they were used as places from political gatherings where people would criticize the government in all freedom. The people would also play checkers and chess. Sometime people would be talking in small groups and sometimes there talking in one entire group with a preacher or storyteller. Coffee shops, also known as Café, were adopted by English-speaking countries in the late 1900’s. Europeans were introduced to the coffee bean through Turkey, whom got it from the Arabs. Arabs called the coffee qahwa, which was later used in Turkey. Nowadays, coffee shops are mostly populated with men. Men gather there to drink coffee, tea, and other drinks. Men go there to relax, see some friends, hear the news, watch football (soccer) games, watch TV, and play board games. Hookah, also known as shisha, is also served as well. 

Sources:

Turkish coffee. (2013, April 30). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_coffee