Izmir's famous sun-dried tomatoes paint vivid summer scene

Summer in Turkey's Izmir province is full of ripe, colorful produce, but it's the region's balanced humidity, hot summer sun and abundant tomato crops that have made the province's Torbalı district the producer of 95% of the country's sun-dried tomatoes

A woman spreads out the sliced tomatoes to dry while her child explores nearby, Izmir, Turkey, July 28, 2022.

Farmers plant tomatoes on a thousand acres across the district and 10,000 tons are harvested from those fields every year.

Piles of tomatoes are lined up to dry in the hot summer sun in Izmir, Turkey, July 28, 2022.

In the drying area, 800-900 tons of dried tomatoes are processed by around 250 people annually.

A woman spreads tomatoes to dry in the scorching summer heat, Izmir, Turkey, July 28, 2022.

Ten kilograms (22 pounds) of fresh tomatoes are required to make just 1 kilogram of sun-dried tomatoes.

A woman uses a broom to gently spread out tomatoes drying in the hot summer sun, Izmir, Turkey, July 28, 2022.

After being sprinkled with salt, the tomatoes dry in about a week and are then sent to factories, processed and ready for export.

A man throws salt over the drying tomatoes in Izmir, Turkey, July 28, 2022.

A truck is loaded with sun-dried tomatoes, Izmir, Turkey, July 28, 2022.

An aerial view shows workers organizing freshly cut tomatoes into piles to dry in the hot summer sun in Izmir, Turkey, July 28, 2022.

An aerial view shows rows of tomatoes laid out in the hot summer sun to dry in Izmir, Turkey, July 28, 2022.

Workers cut tomatoes in half to be laid out in the sun to dry, Izmir, Turkey, July 28, 2022.

An aerial view shows rows of tomatoes laid out in the hot summer sun to dry in Izmir, Turkey, July 28, 2022.