Israel is about fruits and vegetables

Did you know? Israel is a leading exporter of agricultural products. Like, in the world. I didn't know. But I know it now. 

Many fruits grow in Israel. You might be surprised how many. We didn't see all of the more than 20 kinds of fruit growing there, but we did see orange and lemon and grapefruit groves. In fact, Israel has developed a couple of varieties of the grapefruit--the pomelo, for instance.

We saw acres of date palms and, yes, acres of banana trees. And we saw hot houses, lots of them, perhaps for growing tomatoes. Tomatoes and peppers and cucumbers were part of every meal we ate at our hotels in Israel.

Fig trees, and grape vines and I don't remember seeing pomegranate orchards, but they certainly grow there in Israel. We saw olive trees, of course. Olives were part of every meal also.

Do you know the loquat? I do. There was a loquat tree in the front yard of a house I passed every day as I walked to elementary school. I wonder if those people saw me when I would steal their loquats. I LOVE LOQUATS. They grow in Israel. 

But we did see this bunch of mango trees near Capernaum. I don't know if a bunch of mango trees is a grove or an orchard. But here they are.

Mango trees near Capernaum

Wheat, also a big crop there. We walked down a dirt road into a wheat field in the Hula valley. On one side of the road: wheat. On the other side: thistles.

Wheat

Thistle