How to look into your future in Turkey

The most common way of future-telling in Turkey is to look at the coffee-grounds after drinking kahve. Yesterday I had a great and really mystified opportunity to try this out. Unfortunately, I won’t tell what girls predicted for me because it brings bad luck, but definitely will brag if it comes true.

Sometimes we all start asking questions like “Who am I and what will I become? Who will I marry? Will I be successful? Have I chosen the right path?.” The fear of the future and the unknown is in all the human beings. Such major questions push people to look for the answers and here, in Turkey, you can find them.





Drinking Turkish coffee is an inherent part of Turkish culture and, in many ways, it is like a ritual that goes hand in hand with heartfelt conversations with friends. Often, this sense of ritual makes kahve falı more sophisticated.

It is not always done with the serious intentions of learning about the future. Future telling became similar to enterntaiment for the evening to develop your dreaming skills. Anyway, many Turkish women know how to read kahve falı. It dates back to the Ottoman period when Arab nannies lived with wealthy Istanbul families.

So, if you want to try this out firstly, drink your coffee (with the dregs left in the cup). Then turn the  fincan is over on its plate and then turn it around three times while muttering “Neyse halim, çıksın falım” (May the fortune show what are my circumstances.). Once the cup has cooled and you have turned it over, read the fortune from the various shapes that the dregs have made.

Some future telling signs:

If the shape resembles waterfalls it means that you are likely to visit a nice place;

Resolved coffee-grounds will bring bright future;

If there are any drops on the cup it means that you’ll be successful.

P.S. It’s customary to serve Turkish coffee with something sweet (preferably Turkish delight or sweet) and a glass of water.