There was once a time when you could not walk the streets without encountering a traveling salesman. Each one would have stores of different foods and drinks and would tread the roads at different times of day. Nowadays, so much of the olden times are disappearing.
But Hakan Aşık, from the village of Sütlüce (Psyllatos) near Famagusta, has been serving the delicious muhallebi dessert opposite the Nicosia courthouse for nine years. It is the perfect dish to cool us down on a hot summer’s day, and Hakan’s warm manner and smiling face allows for a pleasant conversation.
He tells us that he used to run a market stall in Çağlayan: “I worked there for 15 years. But business began to fall and so did my income. My children grew up and I began a new search.”
But nowadays, he is pleased with his work. Although foreigners do not tend to be interested in what he makes, those who know about muhallebi are always dropping by, particularly visitors from Britain.
“There has been a muhallebi seller here since the 1920s,” he says. He makes the dessert together with his wife, allowing them not just to make a living but to share this magnificent taste with customers.
