1517—Sultan Selim I, after conquering Egypt, brings coffee to Constantinople.
1524—The kadi of Mecca closes the public coffee houses because of disorders, but permits coffee drinking at home and in private. His successor allows them to re-open under license.
1530[L]—Coffee drinking introduced into Damascus.
1532[L]—Coffee drinking introduced into Aleppo.
1534—A religious fanatic denounces coffee in Cairo and leads a mob against the coffee houses, many of which are wrecked. The city is divided into two parties, for and against coffee; but the chief judge, after consultation with the doctors, causes coffee to be served to the meeting, drinks some himself, and thus settles the controversy.
1542—Soliman II, at the solicitation of a favorite court lady, forbids the use of coffee, but to no purpose.
1554—The first coffee houses are opened in Constantinople by Shemsi of Damascus and Hekem of Aleppo.
1570[L]–80[L]—Religious zealots in Constantinople, jealous of the increasing popularity of the coffee houses, claim roasted coffee to be a kind of charcoal, and the mufti decides that it is forbidden by the law. Amurath III subsequently orders the closing of all coffee houses, on religious grounds, classing coffee with wine, forbidden by the Koran. The order is not strictly observed, and coffee drinking continues behind closed shop-doors and in private houses.
1573—Rauwolf, German physician and botanist, first European to mention coffee, makes a journey to the Levant.
1580—Prospero Alpini (Alpinus), Italian physician and botanist, journeys to Egypt and brings back news of coffee.