Mesir Macunu: Manisa’s Spiced Paste and Its Festival

Every spring, a crowd gathers below the minarets of the Sultan Mosque in Manisa with hands raised and bags held open. From the balconies above, men throw down thousands of small paper-wrapped sweets, and everyone tries to catch one. Inside each wrapper is Mesir Macunu, a dark paste of sugar and dozens of spices that the city has made for nearly five hundred years.

What Is Mesir Macunu?

Mesir Macunu is a thick, sticky paste of sugar or honey mixed with a long list of spices and herbs. Tradition speaks of 41 ingredients, a number with a symbolic meaning in Islam. Today, the recipe includes cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, cloves, cardamom, saffron, licorice root, mastic and orange peel, among others. Consequently, it tastes sweet first, then warm and peppery, a little like a spiced toffee.

Earlier versions were less sweet and more spicy, because people took it as a remedy rather than a treat. In 2024, the European Union registered Manisa Mesir Macunu as a protected geographical indication.

The Story of Merkez Efendi and the Sultana

In 1522, Hafsa Sultan, the mother of Suleiman the Magnificent, built a mosque complex in Manisa, with a madrasa, a school, a bath, a soup kitchen and a hospital. The Sufi scholar Musa bin Muslihiddin, known as Merkez Efendi, served there. When Hafsa Sultan fell ill, he cured her with a paste of 41 spices. Grateful, she asked that it be shared with the people of the city every spring, and so the custom began.

Historians doubt that Merkez Efendi really invented the paste. Still, the city remembers him as its creator, and a monument to the mesir stands in Manisa.

The Mesir Festival in Manisa

The festival takes place each spring; traditionally the paste is made from March 21 to 24. During the celebrations, a man dressed as Merkez Efendi joins the throwers on the minaret balconies of the Sultan Mosque, and the paste rains down on the square. In April 2025, the 485th festival ended with 8 tons of it, thrown from 44 points on the mosque and the buildings around it. In April 2025, the 485th festival ended with 8 tons of it, thrown from 44 points on the mosque and the buildings around it. Below, there is folk dancing, music and a reenactment of the old story. In 2012, UNESCO added the Mesir Macunu festival to its list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

What else can you see near Manisa?

Near Manisa, add Sardis, the capital of the Lydian kings, where people first used coins. It lies beside the village of Sart near Salihli, about 72 kilometers (45 miles) from İzmir on the highway to Ankara. Two tall Ionic columns of the Temple of Artemis rise from a valley of eroded red hills. Then, beside the Roman gymnasium, lies one of the most impressive ancient synagogues ever found. In 2025, UNESCO added Sardis and the Lydian tumuli of Bin Tepe to its World Heritage List.

Where to Try Mesir Macunu

Manisa is less than an hour by car from İzmir, so a day trip fits easily. In town, shops sell it in jars and in wrapped pieces all year round. Afterward, continue east to the ruins of Sardis, the capital of the Lydian kings. If you like spiced sweets, also read our guide to Turkish delight. For a day in the same province, see our Sardis and Philadelphia tour.