Turkish Delight

Turkish delight is a very gooey confection made with starch, sugary water, and a light flavoring. It was eaten by Edmund in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.

Here is a recipe for Mint Turkish Delight

• Chicken, marinated in a Curry sauce
• Rice or barley
• Broccoli

Sort of an earthier Love Story, Turkish Delight is a truly lovely, poignant film. Too sentimental for the jaded viewer, and slightly dated by its production design, it's a story about a young couple in Holland who fall in love, defy their parents, and actualize their artistic dreams only to be crushed by the fell hand of Fate. As with Verhoeven's other early work (Soldier of Orange, Spetters), it's got a wonderfully sociable, funny, lighthearted lust-for-life feeling that sets up the tragedy something awful.

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, but had the bad luck to be up against Day For Night. Highly recommended, and not just because it has (imho) the best love scene since Siddhartha.

Tip for those visiting Turkey: if you purchase Turkish Delight while you are still traveling and decide to eat some of it en route, bring a Ziploc bag to keep it in. The most common coating I found was powdered sugar - lots of it. If you aren't going to finish the whole thing before putting it back in your suitcase, the bag will keep the powdered sugar off whatever is in your luggage. It is possible to keep this from happening without a bag, but it's just safer that way.

Also, do not let anyone rip you off when purchasing Turkish Delight (or anything else). This is common in informal markets, including the popular Grand Bazaar in Istanbul - tourists are everywhere and easily recognizable, so vendors are likely to charge foreigner tax at every opportunity.

Turkish Delight can sometimes be purchased in the United States - I have seen it at CVS drugstores, but it was not specifically marked with the name "Turkish Delight" (and they certainly didn't call it lokum!).

Address in the district of Selamiçesme: Cemil Topuzlu Cad. No: 7/4 Kadiköy

Phone: 0216 385 04 23

Address in the district Saskinbakkal: Bagdat Caddesi Asude apt. No: 391/2

Phone: 0216 385 41 83

There is also "Ali Muhiddin Haci Bekir" shops located in Beyoglu, Bahçekapi, Eminönü and Kadiköy.