Our History

A Confectionery House Born in Istanbul

During the nineteenth century, confectioners from Çankırı held a recognized place in Istanbul’s commercial life. Many newcomers from the Anatolian city entered the profession alongside fellow townsmen who had already established themselves in the Ottoman capital. İsmail Hakkı Bey arrived from Çankırı’s Orta district with a background in currency exchange, yet his path soon led him to the confectioners of Hamidiye Street in Bahçekapı.

In 1864, İsmail Hakkı Bey began producing akide candy in the basement beneath his first premises. His sons worked beside him as the family repertoire grew. Sweets gradually filled the counter, and poğaça became another specialty associated with the family. İsmail Hakkı Bey helped introduce the pastry to a wider public in Istanbul, adding a savory favorite to a name already known for confectionery.

Mustafa, one of İsmail Hakkı Bey’s sons, divided his time between the family business and his duties as a muezzin at Arpacılar Mosque. His religious education earned him the title Hafız, a distinction that would later become inseparable from the family name and, eventually, the brand itself.

Ownership would pass from one hand to another over the decades, yet the original confectionery tradition and Bahçekapı connection endured across generations.

Bahçekapı and the Rise of the Hafız Mustafa Name

Bahçekapı occupied an important position in Istanbul’s commercial world, and İsmail Hakkı Bey’s shop soon entered respected business directories.

The Annuaire Oriental recorded “İsmail Hakkı” among Bahçekapı confectioners in 1888, operating at No. 4. Tailors and a watchmaker occupied neighboring premises, placing the confectionery within the dense commercial fabric of late Ottoman Istanbul.

Records from 1889 listed İsmail Hakkı Bey at both Bahçekapı No. 4 and Alaca Hamam Street No. 72. Directory records from 1891 indicate an exchange between the confectionery and a neighboring tailor, while the same door number continued to appear in the commercial record.

Early 1902 records listed two confectioners in Bahçekapı, Hacı Mustafa and Hacı İsmail.
Both shops continued until 1921, while a fuller commercial identity became increasingly visible:
Hacı İsmail Zade Hafız Mustafa

The name linked the founder, the next generation, and Hafız Mustafa’s personal title in a single identity.
In 1924, Hafız Mustafa appeared in Yerebatan with börek, another specialty associated with the family. A further confectionery carrying the name “İsmail Hakkı” later operated on Dudu Odaları Street in Beyoğlu.
Hafız Mustafa shared his father’s profession with his brother Ömer Lütfi. Later surname records identify
Hafız Mustafa’s branch as Kandman, while Ömer Lütfi Bey’s branch carried the surname Cebeci.

Hafız Mustafa Becomes the House Name

After 1929, the business's reputation became firmly associated with the name Hafız Mustafa. A 1930 record also used the wording “Hafız Mustafa ve Mahdumları,” preserving the family character of the company.

Cemil Bey, Hafız Mustafa’s son and successor, consistently retained his father’s name in advertisements. Feast periods were particularly important to Istanbul confectioners, and advertisements invited customers to purchase their festive sweets from Bahçekapı No. 90, Hafız Mustafa ve Mahdumu.

Tahini and helva had already joined the house repertoire by 1929. Cemil Bey also developed a personal commercial identity associated with chocolate, using the name Çikolat Cemil in advertisements and holiday greetings.

Hafız Mustafa’s name, therefore, remained the principal identity while successive family members introduced their own specialties and commercial signatures.

International Recognition Between Two World Wars

The interwar years brought Hafız Mustafa recognition far beyond Istanbul.

Between 1926 and 1938, the house received 11 medals in Europe, including honors connected with exhibitions in cities such as Paris, Brussels, and Liège. Such recognition placed an Istanbul confectionery, born in Bahçekapı, among internationally recognized producers during a formative period in Türkiye’s modern history.

International fairs became part of Hafız Mustafa’s early reputation, long before overseas boutiques entered the company story.

The Kandman Years

Cemil Bey passed away in 1947. During the following decade, commemorative mawlids honored both Cemil Bey and his father.

Hafız Mustafa had already passed eighty years in business by the time of Cemil Bey’s death. In 1948, the company name and logo entered the Official Industrial Property Gazette under the registered wording:

“Hafız Mustafa Oğlu Cemil Halefi S. Kandman.”

Vasfiye Hanım and Sönmez Kandman continued the business. Early commercial use sometimes favored the name Hafız Mustafa Kandman, while later years returned increasingly to the shorter identity already familiar to Istanbul: Hafız Mustafa

The family understood the commercial value of such longevity and regularly cited the company’s age in advertising. A 1957 slogan described Hafız Mustafa as “your confectioner for 94 years.” In 1963, another advertisement celebrated “99 years of experience.”

Product selection expanded considerably during this period. Marzipan, chocolate, cakes, and traditional confectionery formed an important part of the house repertoire during the 1960s.
Sönmez Kandman later entrusted the business to his son, Mustafa Nihat. His period at Hafız Mustafa introduced another Mustafa into the company story and continued until 1993, when his interests shifted toward other sectors.

New Stewardship, Familiar Recipes

Mustafa Altuncu acquired the business in 1993. His period sought growth while respecting the historic character associated with Hafız Mustafa.
Fourteen years later, in 2007, stewardship passed to Avni Ongurlar.

Academic research by Esra Dil, who examined Hafız Mustafa as a long-lived business institution, found continuity across changes in ownership. Product repertoire, production methods, brand understanding, and personnel remained connected to earlier periods within the practical possibilities of each era.
Such continuity became one reason Hafız Mustafa retained a recognizable identity across more than a century of commercial change.

Avni Ongurlar speaks about Hafız Mustafa and Cemil Bey with the familiarity normally reserved for members of one’s own family. His earlier professional background was in textiles, yet his relationship with confectionery developed out of respect for its heritage, commercial culture, and long connection with Istanbul.

Together with his sons, Avni Ongurlar began another period in the Hafız Mustafa story.

A House That Entered Literature

Hafız Mustafa’s reputation eventually found its way into literature.
Colombian author Francisco Leal Quevedo wrote Los Secretos de Hafız Mustafa — The Secrets of Hafız Mustafa — after his encounter with the historic confectionery house.

He described the inspiration behind the work in a memorable sentence:

“This book was inspired by an unforgettable place whose fame transcends borders.”
A confectionery founded in nineteenth-century Bahçekapı had become the subject of a literary work written thousands of kilometers from Istanbul.

More Than a Century Beside a Changing City

Hafız Mustafa’s history runs parallel to the dramatic changes in Istanbul and Türkiye.
The company’s lifetime has crossed the era of horse-drawn tramways, the creation of Istanbul’s early municipal postal system, the opening of Darülfünun-ı Osmani, the First and Second Constitutional periods, the reigns of Sultan Abdülhamid II, Sultan Mehmed Reşad, and Sultan Mehmed VI Vahdeddin, Istanbul’s occupation, and the proclamation of the Republic.

Political systems have changed. Streets changed. Transport changed. Istanbul expanded far beyond its nineteenth-century boundaries.

Hafız Mustafa continued to make confectionery.

Few details describe the scale of such continuity better than Bahçekapı itself: a commercial address associated with the family in records dating back to 1888 remained part of the Hafız Mustafa story
across radically different eras.

The Ahi Tradition and the Ongurlar Family

Avni Ongurlar approached Hafız Mustafa with respect for the Ahi tradition and the commercial ethic associated with the company story of Hacı İsmail Hakkı Bey.
The principle places honest trade, responsible production, and respect for guests at the center of commercial life. Ongurlar and his sons carried those values into a new period of expansion while retaining Hafız Mustafa’s historic identity.

International growth later brought the name to cities beyond Istanbul. The company’s stated purpose remained closely connected to Turkish and Ottoman dessert culture, allowing guests abroad to encounter recipes and tastes associated with Istanbul.

Today, the supplied company record lists more than 25 branches across London, Dubai, and Antalya.

Ingredients Chosen for the Recipe

Hafız Mustafa’s confectionery philosophy begins with ingredients selected for their place within traditional recipes.

Expert confectioners prepare the products by hand. Beet-derived sweetness, natural root color sources, and natural fruit extracts appear across the repertoire according to the requirements of individual recipes. Raw ingredients arrive from regions associated with their particular character and season.
Pistachios, walnuts, hazelnuts, fruit, dairy ingredients, and other materials enter recipes according to traditions refined across successive generations.

Technique carries equal importance. Fine pastry, confectionery, chocolate, helva, and other house specialties require judgment learned through repeated practice. Recipes provide the foundation; long experience gives them their final character.

Since 1864

Hafız Mustafa began with İsmail Hakkı Bey in a basement in Bahçekapı in 1864.
His sons continued the profession. Hafız Mustafa gave the house its enduring name. Cemil Bey expanded its reputation. The Kandman family carried it across much of the twentieth century. Later custodians protected its commercial continuity, and the Ongurlar family brought the name into a new international era.

Paris, Brussels, and other European cities awarded the house 11 medals between 1926 and 1938. Istanbul directories preserved their nineteenth-century addresses. Advertisements celebrated 94 years, then 99 years, long before the company crossed its present milestone. A Colombian novelist placed their name on the cover of a book.

More than a century and a half later, the essential idea remains recognizable: Turkish confectionery prepared with respect for the recipes, ingredients, and experience passed down through generations.

It took centuries to reach this taste...