Müteferrika Süleyman Ağa, known as Suleiman Aga and Soleiman Agha in France, was an Ottoman ambassador to the French king

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

in 1669. When Suleiman visited

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

, he wore a simple wool coat and refused to bow to Louis XIV,Bernstein, p.247
/ref> who immediately banished him from Versailles to Paris. In Paris, Suleiman set up a house where he was credited for introducing

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

drinking to the Parisian society, with waiters dressed in Ottoman style, starting the fashion for coffee-drinking.New York Times ''Starbucked'', 16 December 2007
/ref> Suleiman invited Parisian society women to his home for extravagant "coffee ceremonies", which were imitated throughout Parisian high society. Suleiman's activities in Paris were a trigger for the popularity of

Turquerie Turquerie (anglicized as "Turkery"), or Turquoiserie, was the Turkish fashion in Western Europe from the 16th to 18th centuries for imitating aspects of Ottoman art and culture. Many different Western European countries were fascinated by the ex ...

and

Orientalism in early modern France In early modern France, Orientalism refers to the interaction of pre-modern France with the Orient, and especially the cultural, scientific, artistic and intellectual impact of these interactions, ranging from the academic field of Oriental studie ...

, in which Turkish fashions of the time such as

turban A turban (from Persian language, Persian دولبند‌, ''dolband''; via Middle French ''turbant'') is a type of headwear based on cloth winding. Featuring many variations, it is worn as customary headwear by people of various cultures. Commun ...

s and

caftan A kaftan or caftan (; , ; , ; ) is a variant of the robe or tunic. Originating in Asia, it has been worn by a number of cultures around the world for thousands of years. In Russian usage, ''kaftan'' instead refers to a style of men's long suit ...

s and decorations such as carpets and cushions became highly popular.''Bound together'' by Nayan Chanda p.87
/ref> The first French coffee shop, the

Café Procope The Café Procope (), also known as Le Procope (), on the Rue de l'Ancienne Comédie, is a café in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. The original café was opened in 1686 by the Sicilian chef Procopio Cutò (also known by his Italian name Franc ...

, opened in 1689, 17 years after Suleiman's famed visit.

Notes

References

* Bernstein, W. '' A splendid exchange: how trade shaped the world'' Atlantic Monthly Press, 2008 *

External links

The Embassy of Soliman Aga to Louis XIV: Diplomacy, Dress, and Diamonds
by Garritt van Dyk Ambassadors of the Ottoman Empire to France 17th-century diplomats 17th-century civil servants from the Ottoman Empire {{Ottoman-bio-stub

See also

Notes

References

External links