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Who hasn't heard
of Turkish tobacco? It's
surprising:
— Tobacco (tütün) is
not native to Turkey, but
to North America. Tobacco was imported
to the Ottoman
Empire to be cultivated.
— Most Turkish tobacco
is mild and aromatic, not
strong. In
fact, it's so mild that a cigarette
of 100% Turkish tobacco would not
have a full, satisfying flavor. It
would taste too weak, too thin; but
it would be naturally low
in nicotine and carcinogenic substances. (The
exception is tumbak or tömbeki,
the dark, strong high-nicotine tobacco
grown near Konya and Antakya for
use in nargiles.)
— The finest Turkish
tobacco was not grown in Turkey proper.
It's the prized Yenice (YEH-nee-jeh)
leaf developed in Macedonia (although
Yenice leaf is now raised in Turkey
along the Black
Sea coast.) Mild Turkish tobacco
is blended with stronger, fuller Virginia and Burley tobaccos
to make a full-flavored, satisfying
smoke.
— Manufactured cigarettes (sigara) sold
in pack(et)s are a 19th-century invention. Before
the development of the cigarette-manufacturing
machine, smokers rolled their own
or, more commonly in Ottoman lands,
smoked tobacco in long-shafted pipes
called çibuk (chee-BOOK)
or çubuk (choo-BOOK, "stick").
— The nargile (hookah,
hubble-bubble or water pipe) is currently
enjoying a renaissance of interest in
Turkey. (See the nargile
page.)
— Tobacco is still an
important export crop in Turkey. It's
grown along the Aegean
coast near Izmir and Ephesus,
and along the Black
Sea coast between Sinop and Samsun.
— Cigarette smoking
is a passion among many
Turks, a few of whom ignore the No
Smoking signs (Sigara
Içilmez) in public buildings
such as airports, railroad stations
and theaters. However, most transport,
including airplanes, trains (except
for the smoking cars) and intercity
buses are smoke-free.
— Few Turks smoke cigars,
and Western-style pipes are an artsy
affectation in Turkey. Briar
pipes are rare, and even the beautifully-carved meerschaum
pipes from Eskisehir sold
in most souvenir shops are rarely
smoked by Turks. Meerschaum pipes
are for selling to tourists who prize
meerschaum pipes.
The
Nargile (Hubble-Bubble, Water
Pipe)
Turkish
Coffee
Turkish
Tea
Turkish
Delight
Travel
Details
Turkey
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