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 Sami Kunduh been no governmental approval on this subject. After his return to Ankara, he resigned his office on May 8, 1921. He was one of the founders of the Progressive Republican Party of Turkey. After the dissolution of the party because of the assassination attempt against Mustafa Kemal in İzmir, he was tried and acquitted. He died in İstanbul in 1933. Although he did not have a surname during his lifetime, the Surname Law was adopted the following year after his death, and his family adopted the surname Kunduh. Bekir Sami Kunduh Bekir Sami Kunduh (; 1867 – January 16, 1933)