Why do we have a feeling of some kind of destiny?
Because we moved into a little house in the Chilterns two decades ago and discovered that in its garden karayemiş grew.
In my wife’s mother tongue, this bitter black fruit is known as zevar (spelling uncertain). Others call it Laz üzümü, or Laz grape.
In any case, it is a plant native to the Black Sea and Caucasus regions. It is thought to have been introduced to Europe via Trabzon nearly 500 years ago.
Imagine leaving a home two thousand miles away, in a forested valley inland from the eastern Black Sea, and a garden teeming with karayemiş trees — only to discover the very same in the garden of your new home in a new country.
What immense blessings are these? What homely comforts? What peculiar turn of events?
Last modified: 22 September 2024
