For years, Varan Suzme has frequented the Kiral Coffeehouse near his home, where men of his Istanbul neighborhood while away hours chatting, sipping from tiny, steaming cups and playing backgammon and cards. “Every day I used to come here,” said Mr. Suzme, 77, a retired textile salesman. It’s a place I love, I see my friends, and I am happy and I play games.”Until the pandemic. Customers, who are mostly middle-aged or older, stopped coming for fear of the virus, and with games banned, coffeehouse owners saw business dwindle. Even before another lockdown took effect this month, they had been worried that the coronavirus could endanger the survival of many coffeehouses, robbing the country of a hub of Turkish life.

Source: New York Times December 16, 2020 18:11 UTC