The pomegranate is native to Iran and from there it spread to Asian areas such as the Caucasus, the Himalayas in Northern India and in Kerala. Introduced into Latin America and California by Spanish settlers in 1769.
According to the Qur’an, pomegranates grow in the gardens of paradise. The Qur’an also mentions pomegranates twice as examples of good things God creates. Pomegranates figure in many religious paintings by the likes of Sandro Botticelli and Leonardo da Vinci, often in the hands of the Virgin Mary or the infant Jesus. Pomegranates were known in Ancient Israel as the fruits which the scouts brought to Moses to demonstrate the fertility of the “promised land.
Pomegranate was the symbol of fertility in ancient Persian culture and even in today’s Iran pomegranate sometimes implies love.
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Photos: Erfan Kouchari from Shabestan
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