Turkish delight is known to have been produced in Turkey as early as the late 1700s, hence its name. The exact origin of these sweets is yet to be definitively determined; however, the word "lokum" comes from the Arabic "al-halkum". In the Arab world, Turkish delights are called "rāḥat al-ḥulqūm" (رَاحَة الْحُلْقُوم) which means "throat comfort". According to the Hacı Bekir company, Bekir Efendi, named Hacı Bekir after performing the Hajj, moved to Istanbul from his hometown Kastamonu and opened his confectionery shop in the district of Bahçekapı in 1777. He produced various kinds of candies and "lokums", later including a unique
Bekir Fikri Bekir Fikri Bekir Fikri (1882-1914), (, , ) was an Ottoman revolutionary that participated in the Young Turk Revolution (1908) and fought with distinction during the Balkan Wars (1912-1913). Bekir Fikri was of Albanian origin. He was born into an Albanian-Turkish family in Çorhlu (modern Agios Georgios) located in the kaza of Grebene, Ottoman Empire in 1882. Fikri ethnically belonged to the Vallahades community (Greek speaking Muslims of the Grebene region). Fikri attended the Monastir Military High School where he was exposed to propaganda that questioned the absolutism of sultan Abdulhamid II and later studied at the Ottoman War Academy