Coffeehouses is an establishment which primarily serves prepared coffee or other hot beverages. it shares some of the characteristics of a bar, and some of the characteristics of a restaurant, but it is different from a cafeteria. coffeehouses largely serve as centers of social interaction: the coffeehouse provides social members with a place to congregate, talk, write, read, entertain one another, or pass the time, whether individually or in small groups of 2 or 3. the ottoman chronicler brahim peçevi reports the opening of the first coffeehouse in istanbul: coffeehouses in mecca soon became a concern as places for political gatherings to the imams who banned them, and the drink, for muslims between he first coffee house was opened in damascus,[3] and not long after there were many coffee houses in cairo. here are many examples of noble and lower class participation coffeehouses developed into penny universities, offering a locus of learning that was less formal than structured institutions. these penny universities occupied a significant position in oxford academic life, pasha governor of mecca decided to ban the consumption of coffee in mecca. when the ottomans took over, the doctors that helped ban coffee were cut in half. for the ottomans, coffee and coffee houses were important, everyone met there as equals, encouraged social cohesion, and internal trade. also allowed for strangers to talk to other strangers, formed networking. foreign merchants would benefit because there was a place to go. there were new lawyers who found clients in coffee houses. because of all of this communication, it posed a threat. the ottomans also controlled a lot of the coffee trade because they controlled the original port cities. in istanbul, coffee houses were elaborate, encouraged by the ruler.
