Turkey's Distinctive Brew
Soner Cagaptay
The Atlantic
December 11, 2012
Don't look to Ankara to be a model for the new Islamist governments of the Arab Spring.
It is 5 a.m. in Istanbul, and I am looking for coffee. Having arrived in Istanbul's old city the night before and seriously jetlagged, I decided to walk into the Eyup quarter, which hosts Istanbul's most sacred mosque, Eyup Sultan. I hoped the revered shrine, which attracts early morning worshippers, would have an open coffee shop nearby, and I was right. As prayers ended, I watched Eyup's worshipers flow from the mosque, sipping a bland cup of instant coffee, unaware I was about to be treated to an experience of cultural flavor unique to Turkey.
More:Turkey's Distinctive Brew - The Washington Institute for Near East Policy