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Smoke Free Backgammon in Turkey Today, a new era begins in Turkey, one of backgammon's (or Tavla's) more advocating countries; from 19th of July, 2009 the new indoor public smoking ban come into effect, prohibiting smoking in bars, cafes and restaurants. How will that affect the backgammon playing habits of the citizens?
Smoking and playing backgammon are two strong attributes, perhaps stereotypes, of the Turkish people; to describe heavy smokers we often use the term "smokes like a Turk", no trip to Turkey is not complete without the negotiation over a backgammon board in Istanbul's grand bazaar, and the local cafes are regularly taken up by hooka smoke and the sound of rolling dice. But can one exist without the other?
Tavla, Backgammon Turkish Game
Being an important part of the Turkish culture, backgammon serves as a great ice breaker between tourists and locals. So says Kathy Brownlie who wrote about her holiday in Turkey adventures to travelbite.co.uk. "Backgammon soon became an important part of my Turkey travels." she wrote "On meeting someone new, I bypassed all the standard questions (where are you from, how long have you been travelling etc) and just jumped in with – do you play backgammon? It often overcame language barriers. You could put a backgammon board in front of anyone in Turkey and you’d have their attention within seconds."
Playing the Turkish version of backgammon, known as Tavla, is a little bit different than the backgammon variation known as "western backgammon". First, the doubling cube is not involved. Nor does backgammon in the meaning of a triple game exists. Tavla players are not allowed to hit and run as in backgammon, and if they hit the opponent's blot within their home board, they can either cover the hitting checker with another checker or leave it exposed. Turkish backgammon players also have distinctive style, says Ms. Brownlie, "they play fast and hard, leaving little time to do anything else but drink apple tea."
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