Prickly Pears in Karmylassos

While we were enjoying ourselves in Istanbul, we had the opportunity to visit a dear friend in Fethiye, Mugla. During the three days we spent there, I realized there's only so much you can do on one holiday in that fascinating ancient town. On the day we visited Karmylassos / Kayakoy, I was full of different emotions which made this haunting and magical town look even more interesting to me. While we were wandering among the remains of the stone houses, an old lady handed us a yellow-orange coloured something that I hadn't seen before. 

My friend told us it's a local fruit the ladies in Kayakoy sell to make some money during the summer season. Well, it was the prickly pear as I was to learn later. Some of the common local names for the fruit and the plant are ''dikenli incir'', ''Hint inciri'' and ''Frenk inciri" as it also varies in English as Indian fig opuntia, barbary fig, and prickly pear. The thick outer skin is peeled and the flesh which is juicy and sweet is eaten usually after being refrigerated. I liked it right away. 

After a few clicks, I learned it is a species grown in dry areas of the world such as Mexico, Spain, Sicily, and the coasts of Southern Italy, Greece, Libya, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Israel, Chile, Brazil, Eritrea, Ethiopia, as well as Turkey.  

a prickly pear seller in Morocco