A day in the hills

The red flower above is known locally as Shaqa'iq al-Naa'man al-Hamra (Red Anemone, Anemone coronaria).



From Mahmoud Darwish, the Palestinian national poet: "There is no end to the praise of flowers because it is a verse in our eulogy to the land. But flowers can say more eloquently than language how beautiful our country is, how worthy of love, of even more than it gives already, because it is so intensely ours and because it is so beautiful. Thus the pain of love is mixed with a desire to be lost in the beloved." 1997, translated by Catherine Cobham.

These photos give you a taste for the beauty of the hills, the terraced olive groves, and the spring wildflowers of central Palestine. On this particular day we walked down the valley from Deir Ghassaneh to two natural springs and then back. We had just recently had significant winter rains so the wildflowers and plants were luxuriant.

You will see several photos of olive trees. The oldest olive trees with gnarled trunks are called locally "Zeitoun Rumi" to signify that they are very old, perhaps as old as "Rumi" (Roman) times.

You can double-click the photos to get a better look at the detail of the flowers.

The last photo shows the damage that wild boars have done to the terraced area. According to the local people, the wild boars are used as a weapon against Palestinian farmers by Israeli settlers in the area. The settlers, they say, have apparently turned wild boars loose to damage the crops. Note: An Internet search will yield additional articles about the damage that wild boars have done to Palestinian crops and farmers. I have not yet seen proof of the origin of these wild boars.

Below is al-Kitaniyya (Wild Flax, linum pubescens).




Below is al-Sawsan al-Shabaki (Dwarf Iris, Iris reticulata).



Below is Qarn al-Ghazal (Wild Cyclamen).



The pool of water in the photo below is all that remains from a recent heavy rain.



Note the cactus fruit on the cactus plant. Cactus in Arabic is "Saber". The word also means patience, so "Saber Ayoub" is known as the patience of Job or, in a word play, the cactus plant that belongs to someone named Ayoub.




We walked this agricultural road to the springs in the wadi.



Finally I found the proper name of this beautiful white flower. Cindy and I were at the entrance to the Banias waterfall and found a list of the wildflowers in the area. It is Allium neapolitanum. It is also known as Guernsey Star-of-Bethlehem.



Below is al-Kitamiyya (Lion's Tooth, Thrincia tuberosca).


In the photo below you see a Snobar (Pine) tree next to the Kharoob (Carob) tree. The carob seed pods are edible and are used as a chocolate substitute.



Note the honey bee in the flowers. The flower is called Blueweed or Viper's bugloss (Echium vulgare).








One of the springs we visited.



New leaves emerging on a fig tree.




Below, wild boar damage on terraces.