The Şehitkamİl Municipality in Gaziantep province intends to bring back the old "kıraathane" tradition by installing libraries in the coffee houses around the district as part of the "Transition from Coffee House to Kıraathane" project. Kıraathanes were traditional places where people drank tea and coffee while reading books, newspapers and magazines. Over time, some features of kıraathanes were lost and they turned into simple coffee houses. However, in a project that was initiated two years ago, the Şehitkamil Municipality aims to re-transform the coffee houses into kıraathanes and help people socialize through the medium of books. So far, the municipality has built up libraries in 90 coffee houses and continues to work in order to spread these libraries. The Şehitkamil Municipality Mayor, Rıdvan Fadıloğlu, said that kıraathanes had lost their most important mission, which was encouraging people to read. Stressing that kıraathanes used to be seen as places where people improved their intellect and socialized with one another, Fadıloğlu said that today, people only drink coffee and tea while playing card games or Backgammon.He claimed that they initiated the project in order to pass this tradition on to younger generations. Stating that they will install libraries in 90 coffee houses as part of the project, Fadıloğlu said, "Now, people who pass their time in coffee houses do not play card games but read books instead. Moreover, they can take the books to their houses and bring them back." He stressed that the local population has applauded the project as well. Cesur Kıvanç, the head of the Yaprak Neighborhood, said some of the coffee houses that have been turned into kıraathanes are located in their neighborhood, and they are happy about the municipality's project. "People used to go to coffee houses to play cards, but now they go there to read books. They use their spare time in a more productive way," he emphasized. Ali Demir, one of the residents of the district, said that he has been spending a few hours in kıraathanes since he retired. He said that he used to pass his time playing card games, but now he reads books. "Instead of sitting around doing nothing, we read books and refresh our knowledge. Sometimes, we take the books home with us too. The project is a good idea," Demir said.