EXHIBITIONS / PAST / THREE CITIES, ONE COFFEE

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The people of countless nations across the world are connected by a wonderful, endur­ing tradition: coffee drinking. For millions, this universal dark liquid is an everyday treat, a comfort and a stimulant - a tonic to slow the frantic pace of modern life for a few precious moments.

“Three Cities One Coffee: Cairo, İstanbul, Vienna”. The Nile, The Danube, The Bosphorus. Plain, medium, sweet. Dark, bitter, creamy. Morning, noon and night. Alone, with a lover, a friend. A courtesy, a chat, an invitation. Coming to, waking up, staying awake. Activating, animating, stimulating. A small respite to the rushing about, subverting the pitiless flow of time; sitting and waiting, sometimes with sadness or gladness or just so.

This exhibition focuses on the coffee-drinking customs of three of the world’s greatest cities. Combining modern photography with choice excerpts from a wealth of coffee history and literature, this exhibition explores the story of the global passion for coffee.

Who discovered it, who brewed it for the first time, and who popularized it in different parts of the world? Is it true that an Ethiopian goat herder, a Yemeni dervish, and a Ukrainian nobleman were all responsible for bringing coffee into our lives? These are just a few of the topics that the exhibition addresses as it reveals the colorful and surprising story of one of the world’s favourite drinks.

Featuring spectacular photography, an usual exhibition design, a wealth of literary tidbits from coffee history as well as videos and saturday afternoon sessions of “Coffee Chats”, the exhibition brings together the cities of Cairo, İstanbul and Vienna in a unique way to celebrate the joys of coffee, or kahwa, kahve, Kaffee.

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