But then I thought that perhaps the candy was just stale, and that fresh Turkish Delight would taste better. I seriously doubted that, with my sweet tooth, I would ever become addicted to Turkish Delight. The confection was almost the consistency of a gummy bear, had a less-than-sweet flavor of rose petals, was filled with walnut bits that tasted bitter, and was covered with something like cornstarch. I had to agree with my grandfather that it wasn’t particularly appetizing.

My excitement at finding Turkish Delight quickly turned to disappointment as I began to chew. The store also imported other English goodies such as shortbread cookies, Christmas crackers, horehound candy, and specialty teas. As luck would have it, I ran across a box of it at a small store in Bellevue, Washington, the only place at the time in the Puget Sound area that sold David Winter houses, which I collect. Grandpa wasn’t much into sweets, however, so I was still curious about the confection many considered deliciously addictive.Īs mentioned, my interest in Turkish Delight was renewed after I read TLWW in the early 1980s. He confirmed that Turkish Delight was a gummy, fruit and nut concoction, which he didn’t find very tasty. He had actually eaten the confection when working for the Bureau of Reclamation as a consultant on a dam in Turkey. Fortuitously, my grandfather was able to fill in the blanks. As was her habit, she sent me to the encyclopedia (pre-Internet, of course), but there was no entry. I recall asking my mother if she knew what Turkish Delight was. It seems Turkish Delight had the same tempting, all-consuming, addictive effect on Hadji of Kismet as it did on Edmund of Narnia. Lalume and other women of the Wazir’s harem dance seductively before Hadji as the two sing about “Rahadalkume,” or Turkish Delight: I recalled a scene in which Lalume, the sexy wife of the evil Wazir, tempts Hadji, the poet of old Baghdad, who has overnight gone from beggar to millionaire. What was there about this candy the White Witch gave Edmund Pevensie in Narnia that so quickly enslaved him to the point where he blocked out reason and sought to betray his brother and sisters? Through other cultural references, I knew Turkish Delight (or Rahat Locoum) was a real candy, and I was determined to learn more about it.Īs a teenager, I had seen the musical Kismet one summer at Denver’s City Park. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe ( TLWW) approximately 25 years ago, I was curious about the confection called Turkish Delight.

Turkish delight narnia original