A person’s country and culture become a part of his/her identity. There are a variety of restaurants and cafes in Dublin. One of them is a little bit mysterious because of the location. The Turkish cafe is in Liffey Street Lower, Dublin 1. It is in the second floor of an internet cafe, and you can enter it if you know the password. There is no signboard. This cafe’s owner is a Turkish man, Ahmet Tigli who came to Dublin 16 years ago and has the cafe for three months.
“There are approximately five thousand Turks in Dublin. I am from Kusadasi and most of the Turks who are living in Ireland are from Kusadasi. I fall in love with my wife in Kusadasi. She is Irish and we decided to settle in Ireland. It was an insane courage; I can’t dare the same thing now. It was a huge risk but I was young and took the risk.”
” A Turkish woman was running the place a few months ago. She was also a student in Dublin. After she had left the country, the place was empty for two months. I was a steady customer, and I think it was an opportunity for me because there was increasing demand from people so I took over the cafe.”
The cafe becomes an international meeting point, mostly for students. The cafe is a late night cafe; they are serving until midnight. People play games like, rummikub, card games and drink Turkish tea, coffee. Newcomers who don’t know anyone in the country or people who are missing the culture come to talk to their mother language and watch the football games together.
