Istanbul's Meyhane Culture
Text and Photos By Arzu Sak
First published by The Guide Istanbul
Sit so the chair can remember
That it is a chair
The table would not know itself
Was it not for your hand placed on top
Do not let your gaze wander away
Or the pitcher of water would empty
What you call your drinking cup
Is no drinking cup unless your lips touch it
The mezes would not know their colors, nor flavors
If your fork doesn’t touch.
But are you aware?
Cahit Sıtkı Tarancı, Çilingir Sofrası.
If there is one social space that epitomizes the true Istanbul experience in this city, it is the meyhane. Most commonly referred to as just a Turkish version of a tavern, for many decades, the meyhane has been representing more than just a mere place to eat and drink. It is a place where conversation takes center stage, where hearts are poured out as the rakı flows and where quenching the thirst of the soul matters much more than satiating the hunger of the stomach. Meyhane is this city’s phenomenon, and its history goes back hundreds if not thousands of years.
Meyhane as we know today, where men and women sit down together around tables draped in white linen clothes, where one selects the mezes from colorful trays, where rakı is the first drink that comes to mind, is a recent transformation. The history of the meyhane goes back to the Byzantines and this transformation has been slow coming, and at times heart breaking.
Evliya Çelebi, the renowned author of the 17th century work Seyahatname mentions in the first volume of his work that even back then the neighborhood of Galata flowed with an abundance of meyhanes. Throughout Istanbul, he mentions that there were more than a thousand meyhanes and more than six thousand meyhane staff. These meyhanes were remnants of the taverns that stood during Byzantine times, having survived through the conquest of Constantinople by Fatih Sultan Mehmet in 1453.
But what were meyhanes back then exactly? Dr. Işıl Çokuğraş, whose work on ‘Marginality and Space During Ottoman Rule: Bachelor Rooms and Taverns between 1789-1839’ describes them generally as small, dark spaces, most often underground and with little to no windows, where 4 to 5 wooden stools and low tables would be backed by a bar counter, and where casks would line the walls, filled with wine. In fact, the term meyhane means ‘house of wine’. Dr. Çokuğraş argues further that meyhanes are Byzantine inventions. They were located mostly in the areas of Eminönü and Galata specifically for two reasons. One, both of these areas were the major ports of Constantinople, where all the sea trade would take place. These were also the areas where all men that made their living from these ports, the sailors, the hamals (the porters who would carry the weighty loads up on their backs) and the like would stay. The bekarlar (bachelors) as they were referred to during those times, would not be allowed to stay within the city’s walls out of safety concerns, hence they would be sleeping in bachelor rooms around these ports. And where there are bachelor rooms, there happens to be, more often than not, places for them to sit and drink. Dr. Çokuğraş further notes that while Galata was renowned for its kaptan meyhaneleri (captain’s meyhanes) who would be serving the crews coming in and out of the port, Eminönü had more han meyhaneleri (inn taverns), where the porters would sleep. In both these ports, the meyhane owners were mostly Rum (Greek-Orthodox).
Istanbul’s meyhanes were owned by members of the non-Muslim minority, who were allowed to produce their own wine under the Ottoman rule; which they then sold at their meyhanes. Although alcohol was supposedly out of bounds for the Muslims of the city, some still managed to find their way outside the city’s walls and frequented the taverns owned by the Rums, the Armenians and the Jews of Constantinople. Mehmet Tevfik, who has written about meyhanes and Istanbul’s night drinkers at the end of the 19th century, specifically mentions the areas of Galata, Beyoğlu, Hasköy, Kadıköy, Üsküdar, Kuzguncuk and the fishing villages all along the Bosphorus as having meyhanes that formally paid taxes to the Ottoman authorities. Similarly according to the research of Dr. Çokuğraş, among the 500 meyhanes that still existed in Constantinople at the beginning of the 19th century (much had been closed down at the end of the 18th century due to multiple decrees by the Ottoman sultan), about one third of them were found in the triangle formed by Galata, Beyoğlu and Tatavla (today’s Kurtuluş). Another one third were found all along the Bosphorus at the Rum fishing villages between Beşiktaş and Sarıyer, and the rest were found at Suriçi, Beykoz, Haliç and Kadıköy. These were all distanced from the areas where the city’s Muslim population resided, and lay outside of the historic city walls.
The Meyhanes of Constantinople
Not every meyhane was the same as the next one, however. Social statuses of its frequenters as well as the neighborhood within which it was located denoted its status. Before the 19th century, the meyhanes frequented by the better heeled were gedikli meyhaneler, which were also the ones that paid taxes to the Ottoman authorities (the word gedik meant operating licence). From the 19th century onwards, they would also be renowned for the cleanliness of their kitchens and the talent of their cooks in preparing the food that would accompany the drinking. The names of these gedikli meyhanes would range from Hançerli (the one with the dagger), Kürkçü (the fur seller), to Yahudi (the Jewish). Some would also have symbols belonging to the janissaries. Most obvious symbols of gedikli meyhanes were that of a ship, a camel’s egg, a lighthouse or the seal of Sultan Süleyman. The janissaries that would frequent these meyhanes would be called dayı (which still has the connotation of a rough and tough neighborhood bully today) and would get better service and attention than the rest of the meyhane-goers.
Dr. Çokuğraş’s work mentions that upon entering one of these meyhanes, one would come across a service counter that would be filled with various mezes for those who would rather drink there than at a table, and the drink pitchers would be hanging above them. The rest of the space would hold wooden tables and rattan stools. Some would also have small private rooms that would be open to the meyhane’s regulars. Right around the time of sunset, the meyhane owner would walk around and light the candles standing erect on terracotta holders, and the service would begin.
Koltuk meyhaneleri, on the other hand, would be serving those on the lower steps of the Ottoman social strata, called the ayak takımı (those on foot duty). Deniz Gürsoy, who has written extensively about meyhane culture in Istanbul, mentions that rowers, porters and the like would frequent these particular meyhanes, which would have nothing but a counter, and perhaps a few stools, and would not have official permission to serve alcohol. These would most often be hidden in the back corners of side street markets or grocers. Kibar koltukları, meaning the ‘civilised’ koltuk meyhanes would be serving those on civil duty or clerks, who wouldn’t allow drinking at home, but would still like to enjoy a sip from time to time.
Most interestingly, perhaps, are the ayaklı meyhanes, the on-foot meyhanes of the Ottoman era. Most often of Armenian descent, these men would wrap sheep intestines filled with wine around their waists, with a tip at the end for pouring. They would be wearing a cüppe (type of coat) that would be concealing a cup within its inner pocket. According to Deniz Gürsoy, ayak takımı could spot them around Bahçekapı, Galata and Yemiş iskelesi (pier). When a passerby asked for a drink, the ayaklı meyhane would quickly enter a side street shop or a darkened corner, and pour out the warm alcoholic contents of the intestine into the cup, where the customer would quickly take a swig. Most often, the customer would wipe away his lips with the back of his fist. This manner of wiping away the mouth, without having anything to accompany the alcohol, is called yumruk mezesi, the fist meze, also a sign of indigence.
Times Change, Meyhanes Change
The tanzimat period that began with the political reforms made in the Ottoman State in 1839 marks a distinct change in the perception of meyhanes. As the said political reforms expanded the civil rights given to non-Muslim minorities, the meyhanes, which since then have always had a tumultuous relationship with the Ottoman authority, having been shut and reopened multiples times, could finally enjoy time in the sunlight, and most meyhanes became legal businesses. This also marks the time when the well-heeled Muslim city dwellers began frequenting meyhanes, and meyhanes acquired the more modern and less marginalised look that some still display today. Çokuğraş mentions that the beginning of the 19th century also marks the time when we see meyhanes mentioned more and more in literature, with the period’s writers starting to heavily frequent these locales.
While the gedikli meyhanes became more accessible and acceptable in the Ottoman social sphere, another type of meyhane emerged which took up the meyhane’s former marginality. They were called baloz, and served as lower-class replicas of the balls enjoyed by the modernizing Ottoman elite. These meyhanes appeared near Galata, and served the poor and the sailors, with women appearing for the first time in the meyhane scene, singing, playing instruments and dancing.
Dr. Çokuğraş confirms that the change that swept across the meyhanes of Constantinople continued well into the 20th century. However, little did the meyhane owners of Istanbul know that much more drastic changes would take place in the coming years.
Towards The Modern Times with Meze
The majority of the so called ‘traditional’ meyhanes that we know of and frequent today in Istanbul are but shadows of the those which once were the heartbeats of Istanbul’s non-Muslim minorities and which had even spread to become entertainment for the city’s Muslim population at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Gedikli meyhanes in the early 20th century had already become acceptable and exclusive locales of entertainment, with spotless tables and dinnerware, meticulous service personnel and numerous small plates (called piyata) of mezes, which would already be placed upon the tables before the arrival of the müdavims (the regular clientele). The customers would not have to ask for, nor pay for the mezes, but for the alcohol they would consume.
From Wine to Rakı
Vefa Zat, who has written extensively about the drinking culture in Turkey, mentions that rakı entered the meyhane scene in the 16th century, but played second fiddle to wine until the 19th century. In fact, those who would consume rakı at meyhanes were most often the Muslim customers. Murat Belge, on the other hand, argues that as the Ottoman Muslims more readily equated the sin of alcohol consumption with wine, the distilled rakı provided them with a viable option, though still a sinful act according to the laws of Islam.
Murat Belge in his book titled ‘Food Culture through History’ talks of rakı as ‘a drink with integrity, which sets its own rules’. Indeed, çilingir sofrası (the rakı table, where rakı is the main actor) has its own set of rules. Gülriz Sururi, when talking about the rakı tables, mentions an extensive order of mezes that would arrive as rakı was consumed and sohbet (the enjoyable and satisfying conversation) deepened. According to her, rakı’s first and most important meze is beyaz peynir (white ewe’s milk cheese matured in brine) to always be accompanied by slices of fresh melon. Pilaki (a cold borlotti beans meze) should be flavored with celery, çiroz (dried and salted mackerel in vinaigrette) should be well seasoned with dill, to be followed by lakerda (salted bonito) with slices of red onions, tarama (fish roe spread) and pickled beetroots. Gülriz Sururi’s exhaustive list of rakı mezes goes on to include midye (mussel) dolma, Arnavut ciğeri (Albanian style fried diced liver) and ends with tripe soup with garlic vinaigrette to support the stomach in the later hours of the night when the rakı consumption and conversation ease.
Çilingir Sofrası
The word çilingir means locksmith in Turkish. Viewed from this perspective, çilingir sofrası, the expression used to refer to the rakı table alludes to the way the secrets of the heart are unlocked and get formed into words that flow from the mouths of those sitting around this table. Additionally, the word çilingir is a derivation of the word çeşnigir. Emir-i Çeşnigir was the title of the Ottoman Sultans’ official taster, who would also be heading up the Sultan’s cooks. Emir-i çeşnigir would be the first person to try small samples of the Sultan’s food to check their suitability for the Sultan’s palate, their quality, as well as for potential poison, prior to them being sent off to the Sultan’s table. Though no longer in popular use, the word çeşnigir was also used colloquially to denote a hedonist.
Enter Women
It was only after the founding of the Turkish republic that women entered the meyhane as customers. Before then, meyhane was a space reserved solely for the conversation of men (save for the Baloz, where women served as entertainers). Kör Agop, one of the well-known meyhane owners of Istanbul, is said to have declared, ‘we want men and women together in life and at the table,’ when he opened his first meyhane in 1938. Yorgo Okumuş, one of the oldest Rum meyhane proprietors still in Istanbul today has also told us during our interview, ‘where there are women, there’s civilization. Before the women came to meyhanes, it was a rowdier place.’ For him, the arrival of female customers to meyhanes marks a milestone, which for him was as late as 1982, when he opened İmroz in Nevizade after closing up shop in Krepen Pasajı.
Yorgo Okumuş, who still continues to attend to his meyhane four days a week at the age of 94 is living history. Having moved from Gökçeada to Istanbul at the age of 15, he started working in meyhanes first as a bus boy, then as a waiter, until he took ownership of İmroz, in the era’s famous Krepen Pasajı in 1952. In his establishment, İmroz, he doesn’t allow singing nor music, encouraging conversation instead. When İmroz first moved to Nevizade (now one of the famous passages where one ‘meyhane’ after another lines the street), ‘there was nothing but repair shops, a funerary home, every building was single storied, there wasn’t much else,’ he tells us.
When we ask him about the Rum community in Istanbul today, his answer is frank: ’we are very few today. Back in the day, there were 120.000 of us, now there’s only about 2.000.’ The beginning and middle of the 20th century has not been kind to the non-Muslim minorities still residing in Istanbul. Armenians were the first forced to leave. Then came Varlık Vergisi, the tax levied on the wealthy citizens of Turkey in 1942. It has since been claimed that the underlying reason for the tax was to reduce the influence of the minority non-Turkish citizens on the country's affairs, which took its toll on the minority meyhane owners. The riots of 1955 attacked and burnt to the ground establishments belonging to minorities all along İstiklal Caddesi, and coupled with the Cyprus crisis in 1964, paved way for the exodus of the city’s remaining minorities. And with the departure of the majority of the city’s non-Muslims, the meyhanes changed hands, and lost large chunks of their souls.
The Revival
Nowadays, the new generation of Istanbul is recognizing that the wealth of this vast city lay in its cosmopolitanism, in the beautiful mosaic that was formed by the people who once lived together among the many hilltops lining the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn. This new generation, and the few that came before are nostalgic for the meyhanes of days gone by, where conversation would flow as smoothly as the rakı, where mezes would still carry the same perfume and where the authentic experience of a çilingir sofrası could once again be lived. Hence, the opening of new and the revamping of old meyhanes one after another around the old meyhane districts of Constantinople. Apart from the usual neighborhoods of Asmalımescit, Nevizade and Çiçek Pasajı (all within Beyoğlu) where meyhanes continuously defended their existence, Galata, Çukurcuma, Pera, Balat and Karaköy are all also seeing a revival of the meyhane tradition.
Çiçek Pasajı
One of the most iconic landmarks on İstiklal is the covered arcade of Çiçek Pasajı. The location originally hosted a theater house which was severely damaged by a fire in 1870. A successful local Rum banker of the time, Hristaki Zografos, purchased the building in 1876 and commissioned architect Kleanthis Zannos to design the current building, which was originally called Cité de Pera. Following the Russian Revolution in 1917, it became the location where beautiful Russian women who had fled to Constantinople sold flowers, and the arcade became known as Çiçek Pasajı, the passage of flowers. During its heydays, Cité de Pera was the location of many of the time’s important meyhanes, including Cumhuriyet Meyhanesi, which always had a table specifically reserved for Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Nowadays, Çiçek Pasajı still has meyhanes lining its inner courtyard, however much has changed when it comes to the quality of service and mezes served.
The new meyhanes of Istanbul do not try to duplicate the nostalgic meyhane. They are airier, more minimalist in décor, and yet try to serve flavorful mezes to accompany the rakı and conversation. They do charge by the plate of meze, however.
Today’s Meyhanes
One of these new meyhanes is Ma’Na in Karaköy, which opened its doors last year. The members of the family that operates it are keen meyhane goers who wanted to provide a gedikli meyhane experience with attentive service, attention to cleanliness and a selection of mezes to accompany their 43-strong selection of rakıs to choose from. All this is set within the historical district of Karaköy, which is seeing a kind of fast revival itself, as the former site of one of Istanbul’s main ports, of Istanbul right across from Eminönü. The rakı selected by the customer at Ma’Na can be consumed in one of three rakı-specific shaped glasses. The music never overpowers the conversation and is set to the works of Türk Sanat Müziği (Turkish Art Music), such as Zeki Müren and Müzeyyen Senar. The lakerda is pillowy, the ambiance gentil, and the rakıs as easy on the palate as the conversation. Kemankeş Mahallesi, Rıhtım Caddesi, Fransız Geçidi No.53/8, Karaköy; T: (0212) 293 09 93
On the other side of the Golden Horn, in Balat, is another meyhane, named Balat Sahil Restoran. It has been open for 23 years and its owner’s family emigrated from the Black Sea town of İnebolu, renowned for its various produce and local dishes. As residents of Balat, which has been home to many immigrants from many corners of Anatolia in the later years of the 20th century, first Cemal Akdemir and now his son Mustafa cook up regional İnebolu mezes here in the plain yet tasteful meyhane, looking much more like a traditional meyhane of the early 20th century. ‘Before 1972,’ Cüneyt Akdemir tells us, ‘Balat housed people form three religions, but the Jewish community was the majority. And Balat always had a meyhane culture.’ The Akdemir family succeeds in keeping the meyhane tradition alive with about 30 different kinds of mezes; among them are pickled mushrooms, thinly sliced and fried liver from the city of Sinop, and stuffed onions in olive oil. Mürselpaşa Caddesi No.245, Balat; T: (0212) 525 61 85
Çukur meyhane, located at the basement of an apartment building on a side street off of İstiklal Caddesi is probably the closest it gets to the original meyhanes. Little light comes in, but the mezes served from the hands of Halil Bayram are simple yet flavorful. The grilled hamsi skewers, the likes of which are hard to come by anywhere else, are worth mentioning. Turnacıbaşı Caddesi, Kartal Sokak No.1/A, Galatasaray; T: (0212) 244 55 75
Lastly, Safa Meyhanesi, located in Yedikule right by the historic city walls still retains the characteristic gedikli meyhane vibe from the last days of the Ottoman Empire, with its specific interior architecture and seating arrangement. Open since 1948, Safa has seen the transformation of meyhanes from wine drinking to rakı drinking locales. As per meyhane tradition, Safa does not serve large fish, and instead presents a selection of small mezes such as paçanga böreği (puff pastry stuffed with pastırma, a type of cured meat, and cheese) and the meyhane staple, Albanian liver. İlyasbey Caddesi No.121, Yedikule, Zeytinburnu; T: (0212) 585 55 94 The koltuk meyhanes that Ara Güler (the most famous Turkish-Armenian photographer of the 20th century) photographed in the late 1960s may have disappeared from the public sphere, but this renewed nostalgia for meyhanes, for the authentic flavors of mezes which for so long were lovingly prepared by this city’s minorities, and for the quality of conversation that flow in the company of rakı, is once again a reminder of Istanbul’s rich cultural heritage and the memories of its people; past and present.
