25/08/2024
The exact origin of these sweets is yet to be definitively determined, partly due to the origins being fiercely contested amongst Greeks and Turks.
Turkish claims
According to the Hacı Bekir company, Bekir Efendi, named Hacı Bekir after performing the Hajj, moved to Constantinople from his hometown Kastamonu and opened his confectionery shop in the district of BahƧekapı in 1777. He produced various kinds of candies and lokum, later including a unique form of lokum made with starch and sugar. The family business, now in its fifth generation, still operates under the founderās name.
Questioning of Turkish claims
Tim Richardson, a historian of sweets, has questioned the popular attribution of Hacı Bekir as the inventor of Turkish delight, writing that āspecific names and dates are often erroneously associated with the invention of particular sweets, not least for commercial reasonsā. Similar Arab and Persian recipes, including the use of starch and sugar, predate Bekir by several centuries. The Oxford Companion to Food states that although Bekir is often credited with the invention, there is no hard evidence for it.
Greek claims
Some sources indicate that the concept of Loukoumi dates back to Byzantine times. Regardless, the sweet may have been re-invented since, though this is subject to heavy debate.
