![]() His unique creation – which is the same recipe the family uses today, and one they have kept secret for generations – gained notoriety throughout the city, with word of the delicious sweet eventually reaching the Ottoman Palace. When cornstarch was first created in the mid-19th Century, Bekir Effendi altered his original recipe, replacing flour with cornstarch as a binding ingredient, which gave the sweet the distinct chewiness for which it is now known. Known in Turkey as lokum, these small, jellied cubes are Turkey’s most beloved sweet.īorn and raised in Araç, a town in northern Turkey’s Kastamonu province, Bekir Effendi decided to relocate to present-day Istanbul, the capital and business centre of the Ottoman Empire, to open his lokum business. Opened in 1777 by Celalyan’s great-great-grandfather, confectioner Haci Bekir Effendi, the shop is responsible for creating the Turkish delight we know today. A prejudice against women in charge was never an issue,” Celalyan told me. This, however, has never been a problem in the Haci Bekir company. ![]() According to recent research by the World Business Culture, only 24% of Turkish women are actively employed, despite the fact that the Turkish constitution offers equal rights for men and women in the workplace. Running the country’s oldest company – and one of the 100 oldest companies in the world – is not an easy task, especially as a woman in a country where men are still the predominant breadwinners. We are the fifth generation in the family business,” Celalyan proudly told me, gesturing to a glorious buffet stocked with dozens of flavours of Turkish delight, among other sweets. “Now we are two girls who run this place. She, along with her sister, Nazlı İmre, are the ones in charge today. Inside Hande Celalyan was waiting for me. Haci Bekir’s storefront is elegant yet discreet. ![]()
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