Like lemons pomegranates often grow on the road side of the fence. Though like the oranges they’re a little on the dry side this year. There really hasn’t been enough rain and Cyprus is at risk of desertification at the best of times.
Look up the Turkish for pomegranate and am pleased to find it’s short and simple - nar. We’re lucky when the names of fruit and vegetables are easy to recognise. For example the Turkish for beans is fasulye, which is very similar to the Polish. Potatoes Are patatesler - not too far off. And tomatoes are domates. Those last two possibly helped by being relatively recent imports to the European scene, as in late 17th century for tomatoes and late 18th for potatoes. But banana is muz. Grapes are üzümler.
Obviously it’s possible to simply pick up produce and pay at the checkout. Tins and jars can be a bit trickier. And most difficult is having to ask for a product, probably with a less than perfect accent. Always reminded of a Peruvian boarder I once had who came to me requesting fla-teer-un. Accent on the second syllable. Eventually he produced a Spanish English dictionary and pointed to “flatiron”. Not what I’d have called it but no problem. So a permanent travel warning. If you have the right word and pronounce it badly enough no one will have a clue what you want.
And we will be looking for pomegranate syrup. Thicker and more tart than grenadine but lovely as condiment or glaze.
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