The chewy loukoumi candy known to the rest of the world as Turkish delight is a specialty at the isle of Syros. Confectioners on this island have lifted the creation of the sweet to an art form however, the 2nd Loukoumi Festival on August 23-24 takes the dish to even greater heights.

Ano (Upper) Syros has been dubbed the Greek Montmartre, or in the case of the festival “Loukoumartre”, with jazz, accordion and rembetika-styled music at every corner. But the centerpiece of the festival is, of course, the island’s own loukoumi as featured in loukoumi mosaics.

The material for these loukoumi mosaics are 10,000 blocks of loukoumi from Syros in red (rose), yellow (mastic) and green (bergamot). They will be placed on blocks of 70×70, and will be wet so that the end result is even brighter with color blending into shapes.

On the second day of the festival, the loukoumi art mosaics will be joined together. In particular, nine large blocks will be put together for a dedication to 150 years since the creation of the island’s Apollon Theater.

Loukoumi on Syros goes way back. The delicious sweet was brought to the island when the first refugees from Asia Minor were transported here from the islands of Chios and Psara. It caught on in 1832 with the first loukoumi maker appearing in 1837 when Nikolaos Stamatelis, of Chios-descent, from Constantinople, opened his first shop on the island.

These days, there are just five families that carry on the tradition, however Syrian loukoumi continues to be considered one of the finest and has even been exported to many countries, especially France, for the last 150 years.

Here’s a video of moments from its production stage (from last year’s festival):