A state of emergency has been declred in Santorini, a volcanic island and popular tourist destination in Greece, as an 'earthquake swarm' that began earlier this month continues.
30.01.2025 - 12:19 / lonelyplanet.com
Jan 29, 2025 • 9 min read
Deep, thick and richly aromatic, türk kahve (Turkish coffee) is more than just a quick morning pick-me-up – it’s a backstage pass to Türkiye’s soul. Whether you’re having a heart-to-heart chat or playing backgammon in a dusky bazaar, the potent brew is the ultimate symbol of hospitality.
From its Ottoman-era history to the reverence and skill that goes into its careful preparation, no drink here ignites such passion. Turkish coffee culture runs deep, as shown in the fact that it is on the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage and expressed in the old Turkish saying that a cup of the good stuff is “remembered for 40 years”. Forget your usual flat white, Turkish coffee is the drink with which the Turkish seal deals, forge friendships and even celebrate marriages (the bride being expected to prepare the perfect brew).
New-wave coffee chains are popping up in cities all the time, but locals still appreciate the beauty in the artistry of türk kahvesi – twice-brewing the coffee in a long-handled, thin-lipped copper pot called a cezve, pouring it with a flourish into a tinkling cup and perching an optional lokum (Turkish delight) on the side. Here we spill the beans on the best places and ways to try coffee in Türkiye.
In the beating heart of Istanbul’s upbeat Beyoğlu district, tiny, endearingly old-school Mandabatmaz gets things just right. Proper Turkish coffee is still prepared here in a copper cezve, just as it has been since 1967. Grab a pavement stool in the quiet alley to tune into the flavor of the neighborhood and slowly sip a cup of heady, richly chocolatey coffee that is, as the name "Mandabatmaz" tells you, so thick that “a water buffalo wouldn’t sink in it”.
The secret? No cutting corners: everything is done with precision and a perfectionist’s eye – from the meticulous roasting of ultra-fresh beans to gauging the temperature of water and flame and serving the coffee at the correct time. You’ll smell the place before you see it – the aroma of coffee hits you like a crisp left hook. And if you like the beans, buy some to take home.
Make it happen: The coffee shop is open from 9:30am to 11:30pm daily, equally ideal for the first shot of the day or for refueling before a big night out.
With its towering gold-peach fairy chimney rock formations and cave-honeycombed cliffs rippling across the Anatolian plains, the Cappadocia region is surreally pretty. The small village of Mustafapaşa, with its rock-carved chapels, St Nicholas Monastery and otherworldly cave hotels, is worth seeking out for its beauty alone. But its fascinating Coffee Museum, lifting a lid on the origins and history of türk kahve, is the icing on the cake.
After browsing its impressive collection of antique
A state of emergency has been declred in Santorini, a volcanic island and popular tourist destination in Greece, as an 'earthquake swarm' that began earlier this month continues.
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