The history of Turkish Coffee is on display in Istanbul

Situated on both sides of the Bosphorus and straddling the continents of Europe and Asia, Istanbul is a vibrant city that will stimulate and delight the senses in equal measures. And it has an irrevocable link to coffee.

If you so happen to be visiting Istanbul (or, lest we forget, if you live there) then you can take a meandering journey through history to explore the origins, cultural and social impact of Turkish Coffee as the Topkapi Palace Museum is hosting the coffee lover’s dream exhibition.

The display – jointly organised by the museum and the Turkish Coffee Culture and Research Association and curated by Ersu Pekin – consists of numerous pieces from private collections and reveals how the famous method of coffee preparation helped fuel, expand and influence the Ottoman Empire.

It is believed that the majority of pieces – which are dated between the 16^th and 20^th Centuries – are being displayed to the public for the first time.

“Beyond being a drink, coffee exists in the centre of a big cultural structure. It also has a very important place in daily life,” explained the Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister, Omer Celik.

“It used to be prepared and drank in coffee houses and movable coffee cookers. The coffee houses, where coffee culture has been surviving for hundreds of [years], also hosted traditional Turkish arts such as shadow play, eulogy shows and theatre.”

As well as informing guests about the history of coffee, the collection also educates visitors about how coffee from east to west and how it was adopted by continental European nations after coming into contact with citizens of the Ottoman Empire.

The event runs until June 15^th this year and it entitled “A Drop of Pleasure: 500 years of Turkish Coffee”.

Now, to book those flights…