Date palms growing around  Kinneret

Kinneret         The land around the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River is fertile.  There were so many thriving fruit trees in every direction.  But, Kinneret is probably most famous for its dates.  There are many different types of dates in the region.  And, they have been grown there for around 100 years. 

The re-introduction of dates in the region, in the 1930s, was at the hands of Ben-Zion Israeli.  At the time, dates flourished in Iraq and it was a capital offense to take plants out of the country.  Ben-Zion went to Iraq with forged papers as a merchant from Iceland in search of rice.  He smuggled 20,000 date plants into Israel.

The idea of the kibbutz, an Israeli community farm, started along the shores of the Sea of Galilee with the production of dates.

Of course, I wanted to visit Kinneret, in the southwest corner of the Sea of Galilee.  When I asked a merchant who spoke English how I could get to “KEN er it”, he had no idea where I was talking about.  When I showed him the town on the map, he said, “Oh, ken NEAR it!”  Then, he told me I needed bus number 431.

The next day, I went in search of bus 431.  One bus driver who spoke English said that he could drop me off at the bus stop I needed to connect with bus 430, 431, or 434.  A new discovery while on this journey transformed all of my future travels.  I discovered I could track my position on a map as my bus traveled.  I could clearly see where I was when I was plopped off on a freeway intersection.  When bus 430 came along, I also learned that it only went as far as Tiberias.  Once dropped off at Tiberias Central Bus Station, two women who spoke English made sure that I was headed in the right direction for Kinneret.

The area around the Sea of Galilee is good for growing all kinds of fruit.  I saw trees bursting with lemons, tangerines, oranges, and grapefruit.  It was interesting to see, but I was there for the dates.  Actually, I was there for a shop full of dates and other delicacies at Tamar B’kfar, a family farm there for over 100 years.  One of my friends visited the place years ago and spotted a piece of my clipart in their shop.  I had to see it for myself.

I asked a man who spoke English if he was familiar with the clipart that I pulled up on my phone.  Yes, of course.  It was on the door to their little conference center.  He was a little surprised that I was the artist, but he instantly asked if I wanted him to take a photo of me with it. 

Mission accomplished with so much satisfaction.  Of course, I tracked my way going home.  Even when the bus driver took a turn I wasn’t expecting, I knew where I was and had no worries.

Dates and other treats found at Tamar B'kfar