For many, the words Turkish Delight conjure up images from the chronicles of Narnia. For me, they conjure up fond childhood memories of my late grandmother. You see, my grandmother was particularly fond of Turkish delight. Her favorite was mastic and rosewater flavored ones. Whenever she came to visit, dad would have a box of Turkish delight ready for her. He would order them from Syria weeks in advance. I know it sounds like a contradiction, Turkish candy coming from Syria but before this raging war tore Syria apart, it was the destination for the best cotton, arabic sweets and fruits in the Levant. The best Turkish delight candy came from Syria. So did the finest baklava, burma and other famous arabic sweets.

Back then the Turkish delight (called raha in Arabic “راحة” which is the same Arabic word for comfort by the way ) was plain white. No food coloring…