Istanbul's Arab families and its Arabic restaurants and cafés can order a majlis sofa directly from Sofhu, a manufacturer in Türkiye. Each set is cut to the wall measurements of the apartment or dining room, filled with 32 kg/m³ high-density foam and delivered free. Layouts are single row, L-shape or U-shape, as a raised majlis or a low floor sofa.
- Buyers
- Arab households, restaurants, cafés
- Local ancestor
- The Ottoman sedir and divan
- Products
- Raised Arabic majlis, low floor sofa, wooden bench sets
- Foam
- 32 kg/m³ (32 DNS), no springs
- Maker
- Sofhu, manufacturer in Türkiye
- Delivery
- Free shipping
On this page
The word “divan” reached Europe through Ottoman Turkish. In the Ottoman house and palace, people sat on the sedir, a long cushioned seat built against the wall, and the low couch that foreigners saw in council chambers took the council’s name. So a majlis sofa in Istanbul is not an import from somewhere else. It is the Arab branch of a way of sitting that Istanbul knew for centuries, now ordered again by the city’s Arab families and by the restaurants that serve them. Sofhu makes these sets in Türkiye, to measure, and delivers them free.
From the Ottoman sedir to the Arabic majlis
The sedir ran along the windowed wall of a room, often on three sides, at a height where a seated person could rest an arm on a cushion and look out. The corner farthest from the door was the place of honour. Anyone who has sat in a Gulf or Yemeni majlis will recognise the plan.
The differences are in the details. The sedir was part of the building. An Arabic majlis is movable furniture: seating that lines the walls and can be rearranged. The traditional sedir is raised, as the upholstered majlis is, while an Arabic floor sofa sits on the floor.
Sofhu builds both heights, as two separate products. The Arabic majlis is raised to sofa height on an upholstered base, with tall fixed backs and arm bolsters, like the champagne damask piece above, and it sits closest to the old sedir. The Arabic floor sofa is a low cushion set on the floor with loose back cushions, an ottoman and floor pillows. Wooden bench pieces are made as well. The page on the Turkish sedir and şark köşesi explains the local tradition, sofa, divan and ottoman: words from the East follows the vocabulary, and Sofhu’s carved-wood line is on the existing Turkish majlis page.
Arab Istanbul at home
Istanbul has a large Arab population of residents and long-stay visitors: Syrian, Iraqi, Egyptian, Yemeni, Libyan and Gulf families among them. Fatih, around Aksaray and Yusufpaşa, is the best-known Arab commercial district, and Başakşehir is popular with Arab families looking for newer housing.
These households do not all want the same room. A Syrian family is likely to describe a lower sofa with cushions along the wall, as set out on the page about Syrian and Levantine Arabic seating. A Yemeni or Gulf family usually wants the full set with armrests between places, an ottoman and a matching rug. The Arabic sofa hub shows the range, and Sofhu cuts each one to the room.
Fitting a majlis into an Istanbul apartment
Most people here live in apartments, and the salon has to do several jobs. Three layouts cover most flats.
| Room | Layout | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Salon shared with a dining table | L-shape in one corner | Leaves half the room free |
| Spare room used as a guest majlis | U-shape on three walls | Most seats for the floor area |
| Narrow room or wide hallway end | Single row | Seats a few people, sleeps a guest |
An Arabic floor sofa, like the kilim L-shape above, is not freestanding and needs a wall behind each run, and a majlis lines the walls too, so plan around the balcony door and the radiators. The cushions are filled with 32 kg/m³ polyurethane foam and no springs. Denser foam generally keeps its height longer, and you can ask for a softer or firmer seat. Covers are zippered and come off for washing. Our article on a majlis for small apartments has more on tight rooms.
Restaurants, cafés and shisha lounges
Arabic restaurants and cafés, concentrated in Fatih and spread across the city, are natural commercial buyers. A dining room or lounge needs seating that takes all-day use and can be cleaned between sittings.
Sofhu accepts wholesale and project enquiries from small and large businesses and makes sets to the plan of the space. Useful reading before you enquire: the existing pages on the Arabic jalsah for restaurants and the Arabic majlis for cafés, and our guides to floor seating restaurant design and hookah lounge seating layout.
Ordering in Istanbul
Sofhu states that it coordinates orders from an office in Istanbul. It publishes no street address, and this page will not invent one. The company’s own description is on the Who is Sofhu page. Ordering works the same way here as anywhere:
- Measure each wall that will carry seating, at floor level.
- Mark doors, radiators and the balcony door.
- Send photos and say which style you have in mind.
- Agree fabric and layout on a video call.
The country-wide picture, including summer homes and hotels, is on the Türkiye page. When your measurements are ready, get a quote by measurement or message Sofhu on WhatsApp.
