Istanbul, April 06: A traditional spicy candy from Turkey that has a history of over 500 years will now be included in the Unesco cultural heritage list, an official said.
The Mesir paste, a traditional spicy energizing supplement made in the form of candy, will be the second Turkish tradition in the Unesco list after oil wrestling, according to Xinhua.
Yuksel Ayhan, deputy governor of Manisa, hometown of the Mesir paste festival, said: “We must conserve and promote our tradition.”
The Mesir paste tradition which dates back to almost 500 years, was started as a medicine during the Ottoman period but later became an important part of local festivity.
According to a story, Ayse Hafsa Sultan, wife of Ottoman Sultan Yavuz Sultan Selim and mother of Suleyman the Magnificent, became very ill and doctors could not find a cure. A doctor mixed 41 different types of plants and spices together to make a medicinal paste and sent it to the palace. When Hafsa Sultan ate this paste, she recovered and wanted to share this miraculous medicine with others.
The paste was distributed to the people every year. The Mesir celebration began this way around 1527-1528.
Since then, every year in March-April during the spring festival, thousands of people gather in front of the Sultan Mosque in Manisa to catch a piece of the Mesir paste wrapped in paper and thrown from the mosque rooftop.
–IANS–