Hacı Bekir: Keeping a tradition alive

Enjoying sweets is a common tradition dating back to the 15th century in the Ottoman era.

The Hacı Bekir company is one of the oldest carrying on the tradition. Doğan Şahin, son-in-law of the grandson of Ali Muhiddin Hacı Bekir, leads the 232-year old establishment that was the first Ottoman company to be trademarked.

Şahin is the last representative of a family that has been in the Ottoman-style confectionery business for five generations. He worked with Ali Muhiddin from 1965 until his death in 1974. He learned all the intricacies of the Ottoman-style confectionery business from him.  

He said he believes that Hacı Bekir is not just a confectionery business, but a “heritage” passed down from generation to generation. He also believes the confectionery business was also encouraged by the unique experiences of his great-grandfather who was appointed as the chief confectioner for the Ottoman court by Sultan Mahmud II. 

Şahin said Ottoman-style confectionaries are still competitive against more European-style sweets shops. 

“The Ottoman-style confectionary is similar to Ottoman classical music. It will never go out of fashion. Lokum [Turkish delight] is a touchstone of Ottoman-style confectionery,” Şahin said. 

“Lokum has taken a place in international literature. People have traditionally bought a pack of lokum rather than chocolate when they travel here,” he said. 

Today, Hacı Bekir’s customers are the grandchildren of its customers in the past.  

Engin Kocatuna, a technical engineer, said Hacı Bekir was a traditional symbol of Ottoman confectionery.  

“I have known the Hacı Bekir confectionery since my childhood. The flavor in its sweets has never changed. My grandfather took my father to the shop when he was young as well,” he said.  

Sibel Sinseli believes that buying confectionery from a Hacı Bekir candy shop is still a general custom for most Turkish families. 

“The custom has never changed. Visiting a Hacı Bekir store to buy sweets is an indispensable part of Turkish tradition. People used to visit the shop in the Ottoman era. Today, we still buy confectionary from the store,” she said after buying some almond paste and candies. 

Among the frequent visitors are families living outside Istanbul. 

“We live in the coastal [Aegean] town of Bodrum. My husband works in Istanbul as a mechanical engineer. He buys Turkish delight for us every weekend,” said Gülgün Tireli. 

“It’s my second time in the store. I’m going to buy some Turkish delight for my neighbors. They are very delicious,” she said.  

Both support and challenge  

Şahin said the company was indebted to its regular customers for giving it a chance to survive for over two centuries. 

“The company’s biggest support is its regular customers while its biggest challenge is its regular customers as well,” he said. “We have had some customers who are the fourth or fifth generation in the same family. We sold lokum to your grandfathers and we will sell lokum to your grand children.”  

Şahin feels that he is neither a boss nor a president in the traditional sense, but a guardian of a survival museum. 

“This company is a holy relic for me. I did not start working for this company because Ali Muhiddin got older. Craftsmen never get old. It is a relay race that passes from generation to generation,” said Şahin. 

Hacı Bekir’s descendants believe that the first recipe for Turkish delight was based on a sweetmeat that has traditionally been made since the 15th century using honey and grape molasses (pekmez) as sweeteners and flour and water as a binding agent. Hacı Bekir was a sweets maker who kept up with new discoveries: After Germany started to market beet sugar and starch in the Ottoman Empire, Hacı Bekir was the first to use them in his products instead of grape molasses and flour. Hacı Bekir, however, did not call his specialty Turkish delight. The sweet was only introduced as Turkish delight by Anglo-Saxon travelers in the early 1700s. An unknown Briton became fond of this specialty during a visit to Istanbul, consequently shipping four cases of lokum back to Britain under the name Turkish Delight. After the first introduction to Britain, lokum became a major delicacy not only in Britain but also across all Europe. 

Hacı Bekir has made appearances in novels and other arts portraying the life and times of Istanbul. Many foreigners and residents had their place in the mosaic that was Istanbul in the 19th and 20th centuries – and Hacı Bekir has featured in writings and paintings from then. A watercolor painting of Hacı Bekir was made by Maltese artist Amedeo Preziosi who came to Istanbul in the mid-19th century. Today, the original copy of the portrait is in the Louvre Museum in Paris. It depicts the venerable bearded, turban-wearing confectioner weighing sweets for a wealthy woman while two children and a dog look on. Its lithographic print, meanwhile, is in Topkapı Palace. Charles Dickens wrote of Turkish delight in his novel “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” 50 years after lokum was brought to Europe by an unknown commercial traveler. It was Napoleon’s favorite sweet and was admired by Sir Winston Churchill. In 2005, Turkish delight appeared in Disney’s adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ novel “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.” In the movie, the White Witch of Narnia tempts young Edmund to bring his siblings to the castle with Turkish delight. 

The story of Hacı Bekir Efendi began when he came to the Ottoman’s capital Istanbul from Araç, a small town near the northern city of Kastamonu. He became an apprentice to a candy maker and then opened a small candy shop in 1777 in a neighborhood near Galata Bridge over the Golden Horn. Bekir Efendi, meanwhile, became Hacı Bekir after going on a pilgrimage to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. He always chose his masters and apprentices from Araç to keep secret the intricacies of his craftsmanship. The quality of ingredients he used, the cleanliness of his candy shop and his special recipes made his products outstanding. Hacı Bekir’s candies, especially Turkish delight, were in great demand at the Ottoman court despite the presence of many other types of sweets in the palace during Mahmud II’s era. As a result, he was appointed “chief confectioner” for the Ottoman Palace and awarded a medal of honor by Mahmud II and the title remained in the family for generations. Hacı Bekir passed away at the age of about 90 and his son Mehmet Muhiddin took over both the shop and the title of his father. In this period, the establishment was awarded medals for its participation in international competitions. The company first attended a competition in Vienna in 1873 and was awarded a silver medal by the competition commission. On his return to the capital, Mehmed Muhiddin Efendi envisaged the first Ottoman trademark after being inspired by the figure displayed on the silver medal. In 1888, it was awarded with its second silver medal when it took place in another international competition in German city of Cologne. Mehmed Muhiddin produced and sold the lokum at an international event in Chicago held to mark the 400th anniversary of the discovery of the continent. After the death of Mehmed Muhiddin Effendi, his son Ali Muhiddin made many developments in the confectionery business with the assistance of his mother Reşide Hanım. The establishment entered a golden era as it was awarded gold medals in competitions in Paris and Nice in 1906. The number of shops in Istanbul increased to 10 along with two shops in Egypt. Meanwhile, the United States and Europe also opened for service. Ali Muhiddin held the title of chief confectioner like his father and grandfather. After opening shops in Cairo and Alexandria, His Highness the Khedive of Egypt appointed him confectioner to the court in 1911. Ali died at the end of 1974. Today, the company is now run jointly by members of the fifth generation.