We’ve just unpacked our bags, and feeling home sweet home is real.

Yesterday we were in Istanbul, today, we’re back in the San Francisco Bay Area. We’re not tired, not really, more like exhilarated after being away for six weeks (I know…six weeks?! OMG).

I have a tradition of bringing home a souvenir from our trips. John is more about the experience, but I enjoy the memories that souvenirs bring. We have them scattered around our home as bedspreads, pillow covers, rugs, and table runners, and, since we’re both epicures, a lot of them are in our pantry in the form of delicious spices (curry powders from Morocco and Dubai), rich chocolates from Paris and Vienna, extravagant coffee from Bali (luwak coffee beans), teas from Istanbul, …

What did we bring home this time? Breaking open the beautiful packaging (always a sucker for something nice on the outside), our souvenir was the nibbling kind ... nothing in the world is as delicious as Turkish Delight made from pistachios and honey.

What are your favorite travel souvenirs?

Turkish delight is a confectionary item (candy or sweet) dating to the Ottoman Empire’s seat in Persia. Also known as lokum, it is a gel-like candy made from a base of starch and sugar. Premium varieties are made with chopped dates, pistachios, almonds, hazelnuts or walnuts bound by the gel; traditional varieties are flavored with rosewater, mastic, Bergamot orange, or lemon.

The varieties available in the Istanbul markets is surprising! There is a variation of every flavor, and the most expensive varieties are made with honey instead of sugar.