Sohbet meetings

What the word means

Sohbet is an Arabic word that travelled into Turkish, where it means conversation, and more precisely a friendly one, the kind people keep up for pleasure rather than for business. Officials chose it as the standard label when they wrote about these gatherings, because the practice goes by a different name in almost every district. What the meetings share is a simple idea: a set of men settle into a room together and talk. Talk is the centre of the custom, but it is not the whole of it. Food, music and performance can follow.

Who takes part

Only men belong to a sohbet group, and only those past a certain age, in most cases fifteen or sixteen. The groups are not closed by birth. The sources say a man's ethnic background, his religion and his social position do not bar him. What does matter is conduct. A member is expected to come from a family people regard as honest, to hold confidences, and to show respect towards older men. Gambling is ruled out, and so is being drunk where others can see it. These conditions keep the company pleasant and the talk safe.

Inside the room

Talking is what draws the group together, but a meeting can hold much more. Members may perform music, sing, dance, or put on a short play. A feast of dishes from the region is often part of it. Over repeated meetings, the group becomes a place where spoken traditions survive: stories, songs and local history pass from the older men to the younger ones, and shared values are aired in the same room. The group's memory lives in ordinary conversation.

Names across Turkey

Almost every district calls the practice something of its own. In Şanlıurfa the nights are known as Sıra Gecesi, while Çankırı says Yâran Sohbeti and Elazığ says Kürsübaşı Sohbeti. Balıkesir's Dursunbey district has Barana Sohbets. Round Ankara people speak of cümbüş, of Muhabbet in Beypazarı, and of the Delikanlı Örgütü in the Kazan district. Elsewhere the word is Gezek, used in Kütahya's city centre, in Isparta, in Afyon and in Bursa, where Erfane also appears. Kef or Keyif is heard in Antalya and Isparta, Oda Teşkilatı in Edremit and Soma, Oturmah in Van, and Herfene in Erzincan.

Recognition and meaning

In 2010 the practice was entered on a UNESCO register of living heritage, at the fifth session of the committee that decides such matters. In its written decision the committee described gatherings of this kind as occasions where a community keeps its spoken traditions going, passes its history from hand to hand and shares what it holds dear. That, the committee said, gives participants a steady sense of who they are. The listing recorded a practice already at home in many Turkish towns, where groups still gather under their own local names.

How Sohbet meetings is kept

A sohbet takes shape when a group of men, fifteen or sixteen and older, comes together in a town and settles on a room for their meetings. Each gathering follows a loose order. Talk comes first: stories and local history are told and retold. Music and songs may follow, along with dancing or a short play. A feast of dishes traditional to the area often closes the meeting. Members look after one another's confidences and let older men lead. Someone who wants to join must show that his family is trusted and that he keeps away from gambling and from public drunkenness.

When and where

The meetings are kept in Turkey. The spread of local names shows how far they reach: Velime Geceleri in Diyarbakır, Sıra Yârenleri in Konya's Akşehir district, Gençler Heyeti in Niğde's Dündarlı, Arfane in Ardahan, and Oda Teşkilatı in Manisa's Soma, among many others.

What Sohbet meetings means

Those who keep the custom treat the meeting as a bond rather than a pastime. Its rules matter: a man's word is kept, elders are listened to, and the group's talk does not leave the room. In 2010 a UNESCO committee recognised gatherings of this kind, saying that they let a community keep its spoken traditions, pass on its history and share its values, and that this gives participants a settled sense of identity and of belonging.

Questions people ask about Sohbet meetings

See also

OudA fretless, pear-shaped Middle Eastern lute, plucked with a plectrum called a rishaGhazalA short rhyming poem of love and parting, recited and sung from Arabia to South AsiaHalayA traditional line and circle folk dance kept across Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Iran, and Syria.HoronLine dances of Turkey's eastern Black Sea coast, danced with shaking shoulders

Good reading and sources

• Traditional Sohbet meetings on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-09.