An almond tree with a twisted trunk grows next to a well at the chapel of Saint Gregory of Sinai. Ruined walls show that, centuries ago, the area was an enclosed garden.
|
||||
Twisted Almond Tree6 comments to Twisted Almond TreeLeave a Reply |
||||
|
Copyright © 2023 Father Justin's Blog - All Rights Reserved Powered by WordPress & Atahualpa |
||||
So moving. I remember this tree, from many years ago, when I climbed Mount Sinai with Gabrielia from Austria, who is an expert on the mountains in the Sinai area.
Nice photo.
That is a beautiful photo! The light, the rock, the tree — all beautiful things complementing each other. Glory to God.
I have a very similar photo of that tree, from that same perspective, taken earlier in the year when it was in full bloom. That is a favorite spot for me. I love how the morning light reflects from the surrounding rocks and illuminates the details of the twisted trunk.
Beautiful photo Fr Justin!
Do all Almond tree trunks form a braided pattern, like this one? The Lord’s amazing design! Focus is so perfect, can see tree bark so clearly.
Is the well still active? How beautiful the garden must have been!
I’ve never seen another almond tree with a twisted trunk like this one. The well is still active. A few times, from a distance, I have seen bedouin girls bring their sheep and goats to the area. They draw water from the well and pour it into a trough for the animals. Nothing has changed from the time of Moses. ‘Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock’ (Exodus 2:16).
I believe I had read somewhere that a monk intentionally twisted three tree saplings into one tree and tended it as it grew. That is why it is twisted like that. One of the trees has since died and is broken at the top of the twist.