This rare and enigmatic orchid once known under the name Comperia comperiana was one of the major reasons to visit Turkey. It has been a childhood dream of me to see this plant in bloom, beeing so rare and elusive and for me only known from books, I looked up to this flower as normal kids would look up to unicorns and mermaids.
The brilliantly illustrated books of Landwehr described this species rarity as:

" This extremely rare but remarkably showy orchid, has up to this date been witnessed in its natural surrounding by very few orchid enthusiasts." (Translated from Dutch)

But unlike normal kids I could go and find this 'mythical' flower.

And... As it turns out, the area where whe stayed was a quite good place to see this plant, as it was not uncommon after all. We even found a few plants right across the street of our hotel.

Sadly these plants are also widely harvested for their tubers to make salep. A habit that hopefully will not push this plant into true myth.