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Coffee's story begins with wild plants in Ethiopia; it was cultivated and traded through Yemen, and the first true coffee houses opened in the 16th-century Ottoman world, including Istanbul.

Cultural history (coffee)

HistoryHealth

Why it matters

The idea in context

Those houses became places to talk, argue, play games and share news, so influential that rulers occasionally tried to ban them for stirring up too much conversation. A drink now tied to solitary mornings and to-go cups was, for centuries, one of the world's great engines of public life.

Türkçe

Aynı kart, başka bir dilde.

Kahvenin hikâyesi Etiyopya’daki yabani bitkilerle başlar; Yemen üzerinden yetiştirilip ticareti yapıldı ve ilk gerçek kahvehaneler 16. yüzyılda, İstanbul’un da içinde olduğu Osmanlı dünyasında açıldı.

Bu mekânlar konuşmanın, tartışmanın, oyun oynamanın ve haber paylaşmanın yeri oldu; öyle etkiliydiler ki yöneticiler zaman zaman fazla laf ürettikleri için onları yasaklamayı denedi. Bugün yalnız sabahlarla ve kâğıt bardaklarla anılan bir içecek, yüzyıllar boyunca kamusal hayatın en büyük çarklarından biriydi.

Source trail

Read beyond the card.

Coffee originated in Ethiopia, cultivated via Yemen; coffee houses spread across the Ottoman Empire (Istanbul, 16th c.) and were periodically banned. Standard cultural history.

Background reading: History of coffeeAttribution and context are revised when stronger evidence appears. Corrections are welcome through the editorial page.
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