Turkish delight form of "lokum" made with starch and sugar. The family business, now in its fifth generation, still operates under the founder's name. Tim Richardson, a historian of sweets, has questioned the popular attribution of Hacı Bekir as the inventor of Turkish Delight, writing that "specific names and dates are often erroneously associated with the invention of particular sweets, not least for commercial reasons". Similar Arab and Persian recipes, including the use of starch and sugar, predate Bekir by several centuries. The Oxford Companion to Food states that although Bekir is often credited with the invention, there is no hard evidence
Bekir Çoban-zade Bekir Çoban-zade Bekir Vaap oğlu Çoban-zade (pronounced , Russian: Беки́р Ваа́пович Чоба́н-заде́; May 15, 1893 – October 13, 1937) was a Crimean Tatar poet and professor of Turkic languages who was one of the victims of the Great Purge. In the midst of a successful academic career, at the age of 44, Çoban-zade was arrested by Soviet authorities for alleged subversive activities against the state and was sentenced to death. His writings have outlived him; his poetry, in particular, continues to enjoy popularity among Crimean Tatars. Çoban-zade was born in a family of humble origins in the village near Qarasubazar