Before coming to Ramallah, I knew that olives and olive oil were a staple food and ingredient in a Levantine diet. Many Palestinian, Jordanian, Lebanese and Syrian dishes include olives or olive oil as a part of different meals for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. However, I didn’t fully understand until I spent time here during the olive harvesting season just how significant olive trees are in regard to the Palestinian diet, economy, culture and even identity.
Olive trees grow to be about 25 feet tall if they are fully matured, while some can reach up to 50 feet tall. However, most of the trees that I see around Ramallah, and while on my drive to different cities, look to be about 15 to 20 feet tall. The trunk is a dark brown color that usually is twisted in different shapes as it grows upward and branches out with a round crown-like bush of pale silvery-green and grayish leaves. The leaves are quite small as they are about one and a half to four inches in length, and they cling on to the tree year-round. During the springtime, olive trees sprout small white flower buds that later turn into olive fruits. Olive fruit is usually about half an inch to one inch in length and changes colors depending on how ripe the fruit is.
