Analyst and Expert on Central Asia and Middle East

Muhammad Ali Pasha

Journalist, an Analyst and Expert on Central Asia, Turkiye and Middle East having 12 years of experience in the field of article writing in various renowned journals and newspapers across the globe. Furthermore, he is a writer and poet.

Silk Road travelers, trading their goods and ideas across Eurasia, brought with them hitchhiking apple seeds, discarded from the choicest fruit pulled from wild trees. This early selection would eventually lead to the 7,500 varieties of apple that exist today.

It might seem strange to think that the common apple was not originally a universal fruit, but in fact it has its roots in one specific region of the world.

Malus Sierversii grows in Tian Shan, Kazakhstan

The ancestor of the domestic apple is the Malus sieversii, which grows wild in the Tian Shan Mountains of Kazakhstan.

Nikolai Vavilov first traced the apple genome

In the early 20th century, biologist Nikolai Vavilov first traced the apple genome back to a grove near Almaty, a small town. He visited Almaty and was astounded to find apple trees growing wild, densely entangled and unevenly spaced, a phenomenon found nowhere else in the world.

Can be a $50 billion industry for Kazakhstan

The survival of the original apple is not a mere historical footnote. Experts believe that Kazakhstan’s primeval forests may one day help to save the $50 billion per year global apple industry.

Tian Shan apple seeds were transported by birds and bears

Scientists believe the Tian Shan apple seeds were first transported out of Kazakhstan by birds and bears long before humans ever cultivated them.

Malus Sieversii had already taken root in Syria

By the time humans did begin to grow and trade apples, the Malus sieversii had already taken root in Syria. The Romans discovered it there, and dispersed the fruit even further around the world.

Almaty and its surrounding is the origin of all apples

When modern genome sequencing projects affirmatively linked domestic apples to Malus sieversii, Almaty and its surrounding land were officially recognized as the origin of all apples.

Almaty means “Father of Apples”

Almaty means “father of apples,” and the town touts its heritage proudly. A fountain in the center of town is apple-shaped, and vendors come out each week to sell their many varieties of domesticated apples at market.

Malus sieversii is a deciduous tree growing to 10m, with a very similar appearance to the domestic apple.

The leaves are green and ovate and unlike other domesticated varieties the leaves go red in autumn. Flowers are 3cm in diameter and pinkish, tinged rose when in bud, the fruit is yellowish green, tinged red and up to 7cm in diameter.