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Kahve ve Kahvehaneler: Bir Toplumsal İçeceğin Yakındoğu'daki Kökenleri
Bir fincan kahve... Kırk yıl hatırı olan bu konukseverlik simgesinin hayatımıza girmesi pek de kolay olmadı. Kahve içilmesi ve ilk kahvehaneler büyük bir muhalefetle karşılaştı. Kahire'de, Mekke'de, İstanbul'da kadılar kahvenin haram olup olmadığına, hekimler de uyuşturucu olup olmadığına karar verebilmek için epey ter döktüler. Acaba karşı çıkılan kahvenin kendisi miydi, yoksa kahve içenlerin bir araya gelip "devlet sohbeti"nin keyfini çıkarmaları mı?
Ralph H. Hattox Arap yazmalarına, Osmanlı tarihçilerine ve Avrupalı gezginlerin anılarına dayanarak kahvenin ve kahvehanelerin toplumsal tarihteki başlangıcını inceliyor.
Ralph H. Hattox Arap yazmalarına, Osmanlı tarihçilerine ve Avrupalı gezginlerin anılarına dayanarak kahvenin ve kahvehanelerin toplumsal tarihteki başlangıcını inceliyor.
250 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1985
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
September 21, 2018
Not so much a history of coffee and its public institutions, as a look at how something new affects the societies in which it emerges.
Hattox traces the probable roots of coffee as social beverage in the Sufi tariqas of Yemen, the Hijaz and then spreading north. He also traces the problematic reception the beverage weathered over some decades as debates within Islamic jurisprudence went back and forth between coffee-is-evil to coffee-is-fucking-great!
Now, be careful: as Hattox warns, this wasn't merely some dumb reactionary reaction to what the young people were enjoying, but rather the spread of the beverage as source for all kinds of wacky social malfeasance. Hattox tends to the end argument that it was the institution of the coffeehouse itself as a source of hyper-caffeinated, latte-fueled political opposition and debate that was the problem in the minds of the religious and political elites. A laughable notion these days to be sure since the folks you see populating Starbucks will hardly vaunt and venge against starched white privilege, but back then it was an actual social worry!
Weirdly, Hattox doesn't take this to its logical conclusion, nor does he link coffee and coffeehouse to the very stirring and ubiquitous Sufi political critiques that spread during this time.
Hattox traces the probable roots of coffee as social beverage in the Sufi tariqas of Yemen, the Hijaz and then spreading north. He also traces the problematic reception the beverage weathered over some decades as debates within Islamic jurisprudence went back and forth between coffee-is-evil to coffee-is-fucking-great!
Now, be careful: as Hattox warns, this wasn't merely some dumb reactionary reaction to what the young people were enjoying, but rather the spread of the beverage as source for all kinds of wacky social malfeasance. Hattox tends to the end argument that it was the institution of the coffeehouse itself as a source of hyper-caffeinated, latte-fueled political opposition and debate that was the problem in the minds of the religious and political elites. A laughable notion these days to be sure since the folks you see populating Starbucks will hardly vaunt and venge against starched white privilege, but back then it was an actual social worry!
Weirdly, Hattox doesn't take this to its logical conclusion, nor does he link coffee and coffeehouse to the very stirring and ubiquitous Sufi political critiques that spread during this time.
March 22, 2022
I first became aware of coffee’s history in the Middle East after reading David Eggers’ AMAZING book The Monk of Mokha. So when I came across Coffee and Coffeehouses, I was excited to read it for a more academic perspective on coffee history.
I found this super interesting, with light and accessible language. It starts by discussing how coffee as a drink originated in 15th century Yemeni Sufi orders, which then spread to Mecca, Cairo, and eventually gained popularity in several urban centers like Jerusalem, Damascus, Istanbul, and from there it was spread to Armenians and Greeks who introduced it to Europe.
I was especially fascinated by the descriptions of different types of coffeehouses, like the ones that attracted the elite versus the more general populations. Hattox shows how coffeehouses quickly became an important part of everyday life, where people would go to discuss politics, listen to storytellers, share news, play games like chess and backgammon, and feed intellectual movements.
Hattox also discusses why coffee was sometimes banned by religious and political authorities—one, because at first, they were not sure if it was halal (although it was quickly proven that it was) and two, because coffeehouses were sometimes associated with immoral/frivolous/anti-government/revolutionary behavior. Ultimately, though, everyone came to accept coffee and coffeehouses (the Ottoman sultan even assigned a kahveci usta, a coffee-master, in his kitchen).
I would’ve liked less of a focus on why some religious/political authorities wanted to ban it—it seems that for most of the time period under question, the anti-coffee authorities were in the minority and coffee was never sustainably banned. I think it would’ve been more productive to spend more time talking about how coffee actually changed societies as the author claims it has, and how it was passed to Europe.
Overall it’s a quick, entertaining read that’s also filled with lots of fascinating details. I would highly recommend it if you’re interested in Middle Eastern/Arab/Muslim history—or even if you just love coffee!
I found this super interesting, with light and accessible language. It starts by discussing how coffee as a drink originated in 15th century Yemeni Sufi orders, which then spread to Mecca, Cairo, and eventually gained popularity in several urban centers like Jerusalem, Damascus, Istanbul, and from there it was spread to Armenians and Greeks who introduced it to Europe.
I was especially fascinated by the descriptions of different types of coffeehouses, like the ones that attracted the elite versus the more general populations. Hattox shows how coffeehouses quickly became an important part of everyday life, where people would go to discuss politics, listen to storytellers, share news, play games like chess and backgammon, and feed intellectual movements.
Hattox also discusses why coffee was sometimes banned by religious and political authorities—one, because at first, they were not sure if it was halal (although it was quickly proven that it was) and two, because coffeehouses were sometimes associated with immoral/frivolous/anti-government/revolutionary behavior. Ultimately, though, everyone came to accept coffee and coffeehouses (the Ottoman sultan even assigned a kahveci usta, a coffee-master, in his kitchen).
I would’ve liked less of a focus on why some religious/political authorities wanted to ban it—it seems that for most of the time period under question, the anti-coffee authorities were in the minority and coffee was never sustainably banned. I think it would’ve been more productive to spend more time talking about how coffee actually changed societies as the author claims it has, and how it was passed to Europe.
Overall it’s a quick, entertaining read that’s also filled with lots of fascinating details. I would highly recommend it if you’re interested in Middle Eastern/Arab/Muslim history—or even if you just love coffee!
August 5, 2016
This is a fascinating book on the rise of coffee in the Middle East and its public acceptance and consumption, as reflected in the parallel emergence of coffee houses, that comes with an interesting twist. In detailing the rise of coffee in the late 15th/early 16th century in the Islamic Middle East, the author highlights an interesting aspect of its story: namely the legal wrangling over whether or not coffee is a mind altering drug in class with alcohol. Islamic scholars, as much as any drinker of coffee, appreciated its capacity to alter the mental state of its drinker. The question was, did such alteration constitute a detrimental effect to the extent that coffee should be identified as "khmer", in class with other alcoholic beverages? What followed was a legal back and forth that extended over a few decades, finally resolved both by common sense (coffee does not dull the senses) but equally significant by public pressure. Simply put, there was an intense need in the Islamic metropolises of the Middle East for a beverage that could be consumed in public in lieu of alcohol. Coffee houses became the social nexus where such consumption could take place. The author superbly outlines the various legal aspects, worthy of a case study in a law school. For this alone, and there is more to it, the book is highly recommended.
October 16, 2023
eminönü kurukahveci mehmet efendi’de türk kahvesi içer gibi okunan bi kitap. bir nevi sufilerin zikirlerine bağlı olarak gelişmesi ve uyuşturucu zannedilmesine rağmen yasaklanılamaması gibi bilgileri ileriki zamanlarda kahve ramblelarımdan birinde insanlara satarken çok net görebiliyorum (annem ve doğa çoktan dinledi mesela). kahve güzel şey arkadaşlar bol bol için
April 18, 2015
Coffee burst onto the scene in the Near East in the middle of the 5th century. When it did, it raised a whole host of questions. Was it permissible under Islamic law? It seemed to be intoxicating in some way – did that make it like wine? Or was it something different? Not only that, but coffee brought coffeehouses, where men would sit and talk and talk into the night. What about coffeehouses? What should be done about them? Or were they harmless after all? This book is fascinating history. It tells about the effect of coffee on medieval Near Eastern law, society, medicine, and culture. As a lawyer and a religious person who observes some dietary restrictions, I find it really interesting to see how the faithful strive to apply their existing laws to new circumstances. Not only does it teach really interesting lessons about how societies deal with change, it is also very entertaining. This is a great book.
September 14, 2015
A look at the introduction of coffee into Arabic society.
Reviews what history is known of how it arrived, and then into the first controversy over whether it was permissible. The claims made that it induced drunkenness. The medical views on it.
And perhaps more important, the social context. It caused coffee houses -- reputable alternative to taverns -- to spring up. Well, semi-reputable. One of coffee's big problems was its association with the activities that went on in coffee-houses. from the disreputable to the criminal. The effect on hospitality, since you could do it outside the home, and far more cheaply.
A lot of interesting stuff.
Reviews what history is known of how it arrived, and then into the first controversy over whether it was permissible. The claims made that it induced drunkenness. The medical views on it.
And perhaps more important, the social context. It caused coffee houses -- reputable alternative to taverns -- to spring up. Well, semi-reputable. One of coffee's big problems was its association with the activities that went on in coffee-houses. from the disreputable to the criminal. The effect on hospitality, since you could do it outside the home, and far more cheaply.
A lot of interesting stuff.
May 9, 2009
Excellent, informative, and entertaining discussion of the history of cafes and coffee in a social/political context.
May 22, 2017
Perjalanan dari Yogyakarta ke Jakarta memakan masa 8 jam terus aku mencapai buku yang aku copyleft sendiri untuk baca. Kopi adalah tanaman yang punya pengaruh kuat sekular atau religius. Kopi punya sejarah yang panjang sejak diperkenalkan di dunia oleh peradaban muslim sehingga pusat peradaban beralih ke barat, kopi tidak lepas menjadi bahan komoditi.
Penulis menulis sejarah awal tentang kopi yang tertulis dalam dunia Muslim. Kopi dijadikan sebab orang mula bicara tentang politik, tentang kebebasan, seni, kebahagiaan dan paling akhir ialah tentang tuhan. Penuh liku-liku perjalanan, kopi sehingga hari ini merupakan komoditi yang terpenting selepas minyak. Bagi aku buku ini walaupun tidaklah seberapa rinci penulisannya pada awal-awal kopi diperkenalkan dalam ruang awam akibat keterbatasan sumber tetapi ini sudah cukup memberi bagaimana berpengaruhnya sebuah tanaman yang boleh mencelikkan mata dan fikiran si peminumnya.
Kepada enthusiast kopi yang ingin tahu sejarah kopi pada awal pengenalannya dalam peradaban manusia buku ini sangat dicadangkan untuk di baca!
Penulis menulis sejarah awal tentang kopi yang tertulis dalam dunia Muslim. Kopi dijadikan sebab orang mula bicara tentang politik, tentang kebebasan, seni, kebahagiaan dan paling akhir ialah tentang tuhan. Penuh liku-liku perjalanan, kopi sehingga hari ini merupakan komoditi yang terpenting selepas minyak. Bagi aku buku ini walaupun tidaklah seberapa rinci penulisannya pada awal-awal kopi diperkenalkan dalam ruang awam akibat keterbatasan sumber tetapi ini sudah cukup memberi bagaimana berpengaruhnya sebuah tanaman yang boleh mencelikkan mata dan fikiran si peminumnya.
Kepada enthusiast kopi yang ingin tahu sejarah kopi pada awal pengenalannya dalam peradaban manusia buku ini sangat dicadangkan untuk di baca!
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August 19, 2019Many avid coffee drinkers & coffee fans would be surprised to learn that the origins of coffee trace back to the Arab world & Yemen.This is proven through research.
“[Ralph S. Hattox] found several different stories about how coffee-drinking originated, all pointing to Sufi mystics living in Yemen and their need to stay awake for their all-night prayer services.”
“[Ralph S. Hattox] found several different stories about how coffee-drinking originated, all pointing to Sufi mystics living in Yemen and their need to stay awake for their all-night prayer services.”
Read
December 5, 2023I know so much about coffee now lmao
It's pretty interesting and uses interesting language to describe the topic. I especially liked the discussion of the sheep? who helped discover coffee as well as the Sufis who used it to see God
It's pretty interesting and uses interesting language to describe the topic. I especially liked the discussion of the sheep? who helped discover coffee as well as the Sufis who used it to see God
Read
February 20, 2025i love history
July 1, 2025
Wonderful and well documented history of coffee and coffeehouses
March 20, 2021
A fun read!
March 19, 2015
Coffee is so commonplace today that most of its avid consumers are unaware of just how controversial a beverage it was in its early years. Yet its initial appearance in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries was opposed by several legal and medical figures, some of whom even attempted to ban coffee from consumption by Muslims. This controversy serves as the starting point for Ralph Hattox’s book, which describes the emergence of coffee in the region by using these efforts and the debates they spawned to examine the beverage and the social institutions that developed around it.
To accomplish this, Hattox faces two interrelated challenges: the relative scarcity of sources and the contradictions between them. Sifting through them, he makes a convincing case for the origins of coffee as a beverage in the use of it by Sufi mystics in Yemen as a stimulus during their night-long devotional ceremonies. Coffee drinking spread quickly to the broader Muslim society, where it soon grew in popularity. Hattox argues that it was not coffee itself that engendered the initial controversy so much as the gathering of people to drink it, an action which raised concerns for some in authority. Yet their efforts to ban coffee as an intoxicating beverage ultimately failed, as it soon became a common part of Muslim life. The key to this, according to the author, was the emergence of the coffeehouse. Though modeled after wine taverns, unlike those disreputable institutions coffeehouses offered a respectable place for people to enjoy the beverage – and in doing so, transformed urban Muslim society by offering a new social form where Muslims could interact with each other.
With its fascinating analysis of the legal debate over coffee and its colorful description of the development of coffeehouses in the Middle East, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in the rise of coffee as a social beverage. Hattox makes good use of his limited sources to provide the reader with a history of its sometimes tumultuous origins, supplementing his description of the various legal debates and cases with insightful and well-reasoned observations. Though some may find his focus to be a little too narrow, he nonetheless succeeds in offering an excellent introduction to the history of coffee’s origins, one that leaves its readers enjoying their morning cup with deeper appreciation and insight.
To accomplish this, Hattox faces two interrelated challenges: the relative scarcity of sources and the contradictions between them. Sifting through them, he makes a convincing case for the origins of coffee as a beverage in the use of it by Sufi mystics in Yemen as a stimulus during their night-long devotional ceremonies. Coffee drinking spread quickly to the broader Muslim society, where it soon grew in popularity. Hattox argues that it was not coffee itself that engendered the initial controversy so much as the gathering of people to drink it, an action which raised concerns for some in authority. Yet their efforts to ban coffee as an intoxicating beverage ultimately failed, as it soon became a common part of Muslim life. The key to this, according to the author, was the emergence of the coffeehouse. Though modeled after wine taverns, unlike those disreputable institutions coffeehouses offered a respectable place for people to enjoy the beverage – and in doing so, transformed urban Muslim society by offering a new social form where Muslims could interact with each other.
With its fascinating analysis of the legal debate over coffee and its colorful description of the development of coffeehouses in the Middle East, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in the rise of coffee as a social beverage. Hattox makes good use of his limited sources to provide the reader with a history of its sometimes tumultuous origins, supplementing his description of the various legal debates and cases with insightful and well-reasoned observations. Though some may find his focus to be a little too narrow, he nonetheless succeeds in offering an excellent introduction to the history of coffee’s origins, one that leaves its readers enjoying their morning cup with deeper appreciation and insight.
August 2, 2018
The style of the book makes is very easy to follow such a complicated and detailed content. Hattox explains the history of coffee in consideration of not only historic background but also specific Islamic sources. I really appreciated multilayered and content-based chapters. The volume of the book tells a lot about the mastery of Hattox as it’s not possible to remove or add a single word. Fascinating!
Merged review:
İngilizce kitabın altına uzunca bir yorum yazmış olmakla birlikte, Tarih Vakfi Yurt Yayınlarına dizgi, tasarım ve hepsinden öte kusursuza yakın çeviri icin teşekkür ederim. Okuduğum metnin Ceviri olduğunu unuttuğum zamanlar oldu. Emeğinize sağlık.
Merged review:
İngilizce kitabın altına uzunca bir yorum yazmış olmakla birlikte, Tarih Vakfi Yurt Yayınlarına dizgi, tasarım ve hepsinden öte kusursuza yakın çeviri icin teşekkür ederim. Okuduğum metnin Ceviri olduğunu unuttuğum zamanlar oldu. Emeğinize sağlık.
December 3, 2012
Educational book on the Ottoman civilization. However, it was rather dry. It shows how coffee and the rise of the coffeehouse radically changed society. Unless you are interested in seeing how the domestic life of the Ottoman was changed in the seventeenth century, this book will most likely be of little use.
March 21, 2015
3.5 stars. Specialized, but I liked it. The book covers the birth of coffee as a Mideastern trade good (probably beginning in Yemen) and the various reasons, medical and religious, that some authorities raised over whether it was acceptable to Islam. As someone who didn't know much about how Islam handles these questions, I found it fascinating.
December 31, 2016
Interesting book. It has a lot more detail than I wanted, but that is not the fault of the author. If I was doing a study on the history of coffee, it would be very helpful indeed. Nevertheless, I learned a lot about how the use of coffee spread throughout the Muslim world. It would be interesting now to read how it spread throughout Europe.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews