If you have ever bitten into a soft, sugar-dusted cube of Turkish delight and wondered who on earth thought to invent something so specifically, wonderfully strange, the answer involves an 18th-century confectioner, a royal pilgrimage title, and a Victorian Englishman who apparently couldn't pronounce the word "lokum" to save his life.
Turkish delight (or lokum, its actual name) has been a fixture of Istanbul's sweet shops for nearly 250 years, and its story is a genuinely lovely one, part family business, part happy accident of language.
1777: A Shop Opens in Bahçekapı
The story of modern Turkish delight is usually traced back to a confectioner named Bekir Efendi, who arrived in Istanbul from eastern Anatolia in 1777 and opened a small shop in the Bahçekapı district of the city. Istanbul at the time was already a sophisticated culinary hub within the Ottoman Empire, and Bekir saw an opportunity to create something new.
What set his confection apart from earlier honey-and-flour sweets was a simple but crucial technical shift: using refined sugar and cornstarch instead of older thickeners, which produced a smoother, more elastic texture than anything else on offer. This is the texture we now think of as classically "Turkish delight", soft, faintly chewy, and dissolving almost instantly on the tongue.
From Confectioner to Chef Pâtissier of the Palace
Bekir's confections quickly became fashionable across Ottoman society, exchanged between lovers and served at royal banquets. His reputation grew enough that he was eventually appointed Şekercibaşı, effectively chef pâtissier, to the Imperial Kitchens of Topkapı Palace, putting his lokum on the table for sultans rather than just the general public of Istanbul.
Somewhere along the way, Bekir made the pilgrimage to Mecca, earning him the honorific title "Hacı" (a title given to Muslims who have completed the Hajj). From that point on, his name and his shop became known as Hacı Bekir, a name that still exists in Istanbul today.
- Bekir Efendi became "Hacı Bekir" only after completing his pilgrimage to Mecca.
- Lokum was exchanged between lovers as a romantic gift in Ottoman society.
- Bekir was appointed pastry chef to the Ottoman imperial kitchens at Topkapı Palace.
A Family Business, Five Generations Deep
Unlike a lot of confectionery legends, this one is genuinely a family story. Hacı Bekir's son, Mehmet Muhiddin, took over the business and kept the original recipe while introducing new innovations, and under his leadership the company won medals at major international exhibitions, including in Paris and Vienna, helping put Turkish delight on the global culinary map.
By the early 20th century, a later descendant, Ali Muhiddin, had expanded the business to around ten shops across multiple cities. Remarkably, the company is still family-run today, now in its fifth generation, with the original Bahçekapı shop from 1777 still standing and trading in Istanbul.
How "Lokum" Became "Turkish Delight"
So if the sweet is called lokum, where does the very English-sounding name "Turkish delight" come from? According to the popular story, during the 19th century an English traveller visiting Istanbul tried the confection, loved it, and bought boxes of it to bring home to Britain. Unable to pronounce "lokum" properly, he simply introduced it to his friends and family as "Turkish delight", and the name stuck so thoroughly in English-speaking countries that most people have no idea the sweet has another name at all.
Once it reached Britain, local manufacturers began producing their own versions, but often replaced the traditional cornstarch-set base with gelatine, creating a firmer, chewier texture that differs noticeably from the original Istanbul recipe. So if you have only ever had the Western supermarket version, the real thing is worth seeking out; it is considerably softer and more delicate.
A Quick Turkish Delight Timeline
- 1777 - Bekir Efendi opens his confectionery shop in Bahçekapı, Istanbul.
- Late 1700s - Bekir perfects a cornstarch-and-sugar recipe, creating the smooth texture associated with modern lokum.
- 19th century - Bekir is appointed pastry chef of the Ottoman imperial kitchens and earns the title "Hacı" after his pilgrimage to Mecca.
- 19th century - An English traveller brings lokum home to Britain and renames it "Turkish delight".
- Late 1800s - Mehmet Muhiddin wins medals for the family business at exhibitions in Paris and Vienna.
- Today - The original Hacı Bekir shop is still trading in Istanbul, run by the fifth generation of the family.
Still Made the Same Way, 250 Years Later
What makes Turkish delight's story so satisfying is how little has really changed. The shop Bekir opened in 1777 is, by most accounts, still standing in the same district of Istanbul, still run by his descendants, still making lokum using the same basic principle he landed on nearly 250 years ago: sugar, cornstarch, patience, and a very confident dusting of icing sugar.
So next time you unwrap a soft, sugar-dusted cube of Turkish delight, you can thank an ambitious confectioner from Anatolia, and one Englishman with a language barrier and a serious sweet tooth.
References
- Wikipedia. Turkish Delight.
- Sultan Delights. The History of Turkish Delight.
- Wikimedia Commons. Different types of Turkish delight, Istanbul.