Tangerines were grabbled at the harvest together with primary school students in the approximately 5 decares of tangerine orchards garden of Bodrum Municipality, located at the centre of Bitez Neighborhood.

Having been held between 22-27 December by ‘Bodrum Municipality - the Directorate of Agricultural Services’ and TARKO (Bodrum Agricultural Development Cooperative), the tangerine harvest event was attended by students. They were given information about both the characteristics of Bodrum tangerine and correct harvest methods.

The event, which started with the visit of ‘Bitez Gülümser Mehmet Danacı Primary School’-students, continued today with attendance of 65 students from ‘Yakaköy Havva Torun Primary School’.

The Event was attended by Ahmet Aras, the Mayor of Bodrum; Tayfun Yılmaz, the Deputy Mayor of Bodrum and Cesur Öncel, the chief executive of TARKO. Mayor Aras grabbled tangerines with the children at the harvest event.

“As long as the municipality exists, these orchards shall remain well-maintained and protected”

Having spoken after the harvest, Mayor Aras stated that after he was elected in 2019, the Directorate of Agricultural Services, Funeral Services and TARKO made great efforts for the protection and maintenance of these orchards. Mr Mayor Aras added that they grabbled the fruits from the garden together and increased fruit yield and said:

“The Bodrum Tangerine is actually like an endemic species. Bodrum Tangerine, which has a unique aroma, which we call local tangerine, is a product unique to our region. The Tangerine Association of ours produces soda from tangerine fruit, turkish delight and cologne from the essence. But what matters is that according to our evaluation, we need to be able to use the tangerine when it is green, before completing the ripening period. It gives an aroma just like lime and lemon. You can use it in in many drinks. when it's green, you can use it as a green tangerine in September. This year, we grabbled green tangerines. We serve them with water and turkish coffee, serve them in soft drinks at municipal cafés & restaurants affiliated to the ‘Bodrum Municipality Gıda Inc.’ and tried to create an awareness. As long as the municipality exists, these gardens will remain well-maintained and protected. We want to motivate the citizens on taking care of their tangerine orchards. This is a local culture, it should be left to future generations and the younger generations of this region should experience and protect the Bodrum Tangerine. For sure the Bodrum Tangerine shall one day see the value. You see, there is food crisis in the world, local production has gained importance. If only Bodrum tangerines are sold in local markets and marketplaces of this region, we shall have consumed a large amount of it.”