Confectioner Bekir Effendi, to be widely known as Haci Bekir after his pilgrimage to Mecca, moved from Arac, Kastamonu to Istanbul in 1777. He opened a small confectionery shop in Bahcekapi and began to personally produce and sell varieties of candies and locum's (Turkish Delights). Haci Bekir confections, with their history of four different centuries, appeal to tastes in five continents today. When the fame of Haci Bekir's candies and lokums reached the Ottoman Palace, Sultan Mahmud II, the reformist sovereign who was the founder of the modern Ottoman, appointed him as Chief Confectioner to the Palace and also rewarded him with Nisan-i Ali Osmani, a medal of honor of the first degree. An English tourist bought some lokums from Haci Bekir and began to offer them around in England as Turkish Delights, with the name he himself had invented. Lokum has ever since been known as Turkish Delight in general, particularly in English speaking countries, and as Lokoum in France and the Balkans. Haci Bekir will always be more than happy to welcome those who would like to inhale the scent of history and savor the exquisite tastes of nature artistically reflected on confections