Ali Muhiddin Haci Bekir (Istanbul, Turkey)

Established in 1777; yes you read this correctly, Ali Muhiddin Haci Bekir is Turkey's oldest Turkish delights (lokum) shop (I have to find out but, probably Ali Muhiddin is the world's oldest candy store as well). We wanted to stop at the shop to buy some Turkish delights for ourselves and gifts. I was very excited. Like a kid in a candy store.


There are several AMHB in Istanbul but we wanted to go to the original shop. It is a small and charming store. Two big glass windows display all the tempations.


One window displaying all the amazing Turkish cakes.


The other window displaying more wonderful Turkish sweets.


Inside; I could not believe the different types of Turkish delights to choose from. From pistachio, coconut, pineapple, rose, strawberry, etc. I had to ask the salesperson to explain them all to me. On top of that, they allow you to taste every single one before you decide which ones to buy. I was in candy heaven.


You have a choice between buying already pre-boxed Turkish delights or choose the fresh ones from the display to create your own box. We did both. We chose some pre-boxed Turkish delights and created a box of our own selection. I was expecting that Turkish delights were going to be too sweet for my taste, but they were not. That is probably the reason why I ate a whole box of lokum in a day.

www.hacibekir.com