Turkish Tavla



via Tulumba.com

 Like everyone else, I'm sitting here waiting for hot deals on Amazon. But if you have someone on your list who doesn't need books or electronics, you're probably clicking around like a maniac trying to find something interesting. (Something not made in China or available at Target would be nice!)

How about a backgammon (tavla) set? Conjures images of old men in coffee shops, doesn't it?

Yup, I can just see them under the shade of an arbor smothered with bougainvillia or at the edge of the town square, people watching between moves...

This set is pretty cool, and not too expensive. Tulumba.com has it for under $50.00. I suppose if you're not into games, it would still look nice up on a bookshelf. Rummikub is pretty cool too. If you've never tried that, it's like Gin Rummy but with domino-like tiles. In Turkey, these games are pretty much de rigueur. I knew some ladies that had regular *ahem* gatherings to play Rummikub (called Okay in Turkey). I never went because I didn't want to lose my shirt, if you know what I mean.

How about a coffee set to go with those games? Tulumba has those too! OK, that one is probably more for the ladies group...but if you need an ashtray (Ashtray? What's that? Where do you even GET one of those anymore? You did know Camels were made with Turkish Tobacco.) Tulumba has neat looking ashtrays too...and over 100,000 other neat things that might work for your hard-to-impress giftees.