A Fine Caper

Summer is already here and it's the turn of the caper to flower. I love seeing it growing out of the Old City walls as I walk along the ramparts. Best known for its edible flower buds (capers), often used as a seasoning, and the fruit (caper berries), both of which are usually consumed pickled.  Other parts of Capparis plants are used in the manufacture of medicines and cosmetics.

 

The most common species of caper in the Jerusalem area, and throughout the Mediterranean region of Israel, is the common caper (Capparis spinosa). In the desert, it is replaced by the Egyptian caper (Capparis  aegyptia).  Because of finely curved thorns they can only be picked by hand and as such are considered a delicacy.

Capers are a distinctive ingredient in Italian cuisine and are commonly used in salads,  meat dishes and pasta sauces. Capers are known for being one of the ingredients of tartar sauce. They are often served with cold smoked salmon or fish dishes.

 

The leaves of the caper are round and drop off in the winter. The beautiful flowers have four white petals and masses of stamens. The flowers give off an exquisite fragrance at night and in the early morning, wilting as the morning heats up. They open in the evening to attract moths, which enjoy nectar that is held in a pocket right in the middle of the flower. The two lower petals are attached to one another and to the nectary, creating this pocket and preventing small insects from stealing the nectar. After the flower has been fertilized, a long fruit develops.

The preparation of capers for food was already well-known in ancient times. A caper collector was known in Hebrew as a 'kapar'. Indeed, this word appears on the lintel of the entrance to an ancient synagogue in modern-day Katzrin. The inscription says:  "This is the house of study of Elazar the kapar."

On a final note, the caper – which reappears, flowers, and provides food every year, without any care - has been used as a metaphor for the Jewish people's determination to survive in the harshest of conditions.  Perhaps it's no coincidence that they are found growing out of the Western Wall!

Gazelle Valley Jerusalem - Israel's First Urban Park

I just returned from a visit to the newly-opened Gazelle Valley across the road from my home. I have lived in the neighborhood for 25 years and was excited to see this new project which will benefit all the city's residents.

 

 Gazelle Valley - saved from developers

the controversial Holyland project in the background

(photo - Amir Balaban)

 

Following a 15-year struggle to save the green space from residential developers, March 30 saw the opening of Gazelle Valley, Israel’s first urban wildlife reserve which features five ponds, two streams, bird-watching areas, a man-made island accessible by wooden bridges and wild gazelles roaming free.

 

 Looking for Gazelles



Planned by the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, which also supports the nearby Jerusalem Bird Observatory, local experts were also advised by people  responsible for a much larger urban project -  New York's Central Park.  Funds were provided via the Jerualem Foundation and the Jerusalem Municipality. Signs in Hebrew, Arabic and English describe the flora and fauna, and an information center assisted by volunteers offers workshops and guided tours.

 Gazelle Workshop
 

The Passover holiday has seen thousands of visitors, of all backgrounds, enjoying the nature workshops, the ponds, the blue and white striped deckchairs and the large open space just a stone's throw from the busy Patt Junction - one of the city's major intersections.

 Israeli Mountain Gazelles in the Valley

(photo - Amir Balaban)

The Israeli mountain gazelle “is the archetype of all gazelles,” says Amir Balaban, a champion of Israeli wildlife who is the urban nature coordinator at the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel and a force behind the valley renovation. “It’s the biblical gazelle, the one mentioned in Psalms and the Song of Songs; it has beauty and strength. Jerusalem and gazelles always went together.”

I wish the project great success. The public supported the new development which will provide a much-needed green space in a heavily-built up area.

I didn't see any gazelles today but look forward to them returning to the neighborhood.

Taking a break
 

The park will remain open to the public free of charge, seven days a week, from 7 a.m. until sunset. 

Jerusalem Snow 2015

We awoke to a foot of snow this morning and low temperatures.  Before it begins to melt people are out building snowmen and enjoying the winter scenery.

Snow also made a rare appearance in Haifa, Beersheva and the Negev region. The last time that happened was in 1992!

The city is even more beautiful in the snow.

I wanted to share this picture of Gethsemane from the Reuters news agency:

Desert Embroidery - Empowering Bedouin Women in the Negev

Camels, tents and women in black embroidered dresses swaying over the desert sand: visitors to the Negev desert in Israel can still catch glimpses of this romantic picture from the past.  But today most of Israeli’s 177,700 Bedouin live in towns and unrecognized villages. The transition from nomadic lifestyle to permanent settlement has brought many changes, particularly for women.

The nomadic Bedouin woman enjoyed a central position in Bedouin Society. She herded the family goats and sheep, drew water from the well, raised vegetables in the family plot, educated her children in the traditions of her tribe and her Moslem religion, prepared food on an open fire, wove and embroidered her family’s clothing, among her many tasks. She enjoyed meeting her neighbors at the well and carried on an extensive social life despite the distances in the desert.
With the move to permanent settlement, the Bedouin woman moved from the open horizons of the desert to the four walls of her own house. Her traditional tasks were replaced by those of a housewife. Her economic contribution to her family vanished, as did her opportunities for a social life.

In 1996 the Association for Advancement of the Status of Women, Lakia, was established with the goal of improving the status of women in Bedouin society and Israeli society as a whole. Run and operated by Bedouin women, it is sensitive to the needs of their community.

The flagship project is the Desert Embroidery and Visitors' Center which provides alternative sources of income for the women through the creation of an industry based on traditional skills.

 

Today I had the chance to visit the centre and enjoy the colourful display of embroidered products on sale. I also met Na'ama Elsana'a, the dynamic force behind the establishment of the project which began with 15 women and has trained over 160 women from Lakia and surrounding Bedouin communities.

In addition, the association educates the women and raises awareness about essential issues for the community.

 Na'ama with Amy Kronish, who uses the Lakia embroidery in her coexistence quilts.

It's well worth visiting Desert Embroidery in Lakia but call in advance: Na'ama - 054-6734621 or rikma@lakia2.org

My favourite piece:

 

Holiday Greetings and Happy New Year!

As the world celebrates Christmas Eve tonight, thousands will flock to Bethlehem for midnight mass which is televised around the world. Many Jewish Israelis also join in the celebrations at carol services and other Christmas events taking place in Jerusalem and around the country.

The other day I saw Santa Claus ringing his bell from the walls of Jerusalem.

Nativity Square in Bethlehem ready to receive visitors

Enjoy this short film produced by Israel 21c showing Nazareth preparing to celebrate Christmas in the city. Christmas preparations in Nazareth

I wish everyone Peace on Earth and Goodwill to all.

Holy Week in Jerusalem 2014

This year, Passover and Easter fell during the same week. In addition, the Orthodox and Catholic churches celebrated Easter on the same date so the city was filled with celebrations. Though I usually avoid the crowds, this year I had the pleasure of experiencing some of the events and savouring the atsmosphere and colorful throngs of people celebrating Holy Week.  You too can enjoy this via the pictures below. (Photos Courtesy of Jo M. Kearney.)

Priestly Blessing at the Western Wall

 

Hundreds of people - secular, religious and ultra-Orthodox, as well as tourists took part in the traditional Birkat HaKohanim (Priestly Blessing) at the Western Wall last Thursday morning.

The blessing, a Jewish prayer recited by Kohanim (Jewish priests in direct patrilineal descent from Aaron), is regularly performed during the intermediate days of Passover and Sukkot.
 



 

Priestly Blessing Western Wall
 



 

Holy Sepulcher from the rooftop

 

 

Good Friday Procession

 

Ethiopian Priests at Deir ESultan on the roof of the Holy Sepulchre

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Methuselah - Ancient Date Tree from Masada - Watch the Film!

Whenever I visit Masada, which I do frequently, I talk about the ancient Judean date pits which were found in the store rooms by the archeologist Yigal Yadin back in the mid-1960's.  More specifically I mention Methuselah, the 2000 year old date pit which is growing on Kibbutz Ketura in the Arava.

For thousands of years, Judean date trees were one of the most recognizable and welcome sights for people living in the Middle East -- widely cultivated throughout the region for their sweet fruit, and for the cool shade they offered from the blazing desert sun.

The Judea Capta Coin minted after the destruction of Judea - the woman sitting under the date palm signified Judea

 

From its founding some 3,000 years ago, to the dawn of the Common Era, the trees became a staple crop in the Kingdom of Judea. Judean palm trees would come to serve as one of the kingdom's chief symbols of good fortune; King David named his daughter, Tamar, after the plant's name in Hebrew.
By the time the Roman Empire sought to usurp control of the kingdom in 70 AD, broad forests of these trees flourished as a staple crop to the Judean economy -- a fact that made them a prime resource for the invading army to destroy. Sadly, around the year 500 AD, the once plentiful fruit trees had been, driven to extinction for the sake of conquest.

In the centuries that followed, first-hand knowledge of the tree slipped from memory to legend. Up until recently, that is.
During excavations at the site of Herod's palace in Israel in the early 1960's, archeologists unearthed a small stockpile of seeds stowed in a clay jar dating back 2,000 years. For the next four decades, the ancient seeds were kept in a drawer at Tel Aviv's Bar-Ilan University. But then, in 2005, botanical researcher Elaine Solowey decided to plan some and see what, if anything, would sprout.
"I assumed the food in the seed would be no good after all that time. How could it be?" She was soon proven to be wrong.

Amazingly, the multi-millennial seed did indeed sprout -- producing a sapling no one had seen in centuries. Today, the living archeological treasure continues to grow and thrive; In 2011, it even produced its first flower -- a heartening sign that the ancient survivor was eager to reproduce. It has been proposed that the tree be cross-bred with closely related palm types, but it would likely take years for it to begin producing any of its famed fruits. Meanwhile, Solowey is working to revive other age-old trees from their long dormancy.

Watch this short film about Methuselah

Methusalah, October 2014

 Picture by Jill Rosenfield