The Forbidden Fruit of the Ottoman Palace: The Astonishing Turkish Adventure of the Avocado

During the Ottoman Tulip Era, a scholar introduced the avocado to Turkey. Beloved by the palace, the fruit was “banned” and burned after a revolt. This is the incredible story of the avocado, which began and ended on these lands 250 years ago. A surprising tale from history’s dusty shelves.

The Curious Scholar of the Tulip Era: Molla Kamil Efendi

The year is 1688… In Ioannina, a child named Molla Kamil Efendi was born, shining with his intelligence and passion for learning. While his family dreamed of him becoming a religious scholar, his heart and mind were set on the positive sciences, especially the secrets of nature. This passion led him, with the inheritance from his father, first to Rome and then to Paris, the center of botanical and agricultural sciences.

Upon returning to Istanbul with his modern education, his path led to the palace. His diligence and knowledge caught the attention of the famous grand vizier of the Tulip Era, Nevşehirli Damat İbrahim Pasha. The event that changed his life occurred in 1720, when a mysterious disease struck Istanbul’s famous tulip gardens. When Molla Kamil saved the tulips using scientific methods, he was honored by Sultan Ahmed III with the title “Halaskaran-ı lalezar,” meaning “Savior of the Tulip Gardens.”

The Palace’s New Favorite: The Alligator Pear and Its Benefits

His reward for this success was a plot of land in Yalova. Here, Molla Kamil rolled up his sleeves to realize his dream of cultivating a fruit he had come to admire in Europe: the avocado. After long trials and cross-breeding efforts, he succeeded in growing avocado trees adapted to the Yalova climate.

When he presented his harvest to the palace with a risale (a small booklet) describing its benefits, this new flavor aroused great curiosity. In his treatise, Molla Kamil praised the avocado with these words:

“This tree, named Avokad, which they also call the alligator pear, its benefits are countless. Its shade is pleasant, its appearance is fine, its fruit is delicious and healing. Its fruit is a taste of paradise, it goes well with whatever it is eaten, gives freshness to the mouth and relief to the stomach. When its oil is applied, it adds a pearly glow to the skin. If its leaves are boiled and drunk, it is the cure for hasat-ül kilye (kidney stones)…”.

After Grand Vizier Damat İbrahim Pasha served it at his receptions, the avocado quickly became a sought-after exotic delicacy on the tables of Istanbul’s elite.

The Patrona Halil Revolt and the Bitter End of a Fruit

However, the avocado’s reign in the Ottoman palace did not last long. The Patrona Halil Revolt, which broke out in 1730, targeted not only the innovations of the Tulip Era but also Molla Kamil Efendi and his “alligator pear,” which had become symbols of the period. As historian Erhan Afyoncu states, this revolt “wiped out all the innovations of the Tulip Era.” The destructive nature of the rebellion, unfortunately, also struck the avocado trees.

The rebels executed the Grand Vizier along with Molla Kamil Efendi. But it didn’t end there. A group of fanatics among the rebels spread an irrational rumor that the avocado was the product of a union between a “crocodile and a tree.” Following this slander, a fatwa was issued declaring the fruit “makruh” (religiously discouraged) and that it was not permissible to cultivate or eat it in a Muslim land.

This fatwa was the avocado’s death warrant. All the avocado trees in Yalova, cultivated with great effort, were burned and destroyed.

Final Thoughts

Thus, one of the first modern agricultural experiments on Turkish soil came to an end in the fire of ignorance and bigotry. It would take nearly 250 years for the avocado, once praised for its healing properties and flavor on palace tables, to return to these lands. Molla Kamil Efendi’s story remains on the dusty pages of history as a bitter proof of how fragile knowledge and innovation can be.

Bibliography

• Afyoncu, Erhan. Sağlık Tarihimizden İlginç Fıkralar (Interesting Anecdotes from Our History of Health). Yeditepe Yayınevi, Istanbul, 2020.
• (The quote from Molla Kamil Efendi’s avocado treatise is cited as it appears in popular historical narratives and accounts.)