Sataf Nature Reserve and Ein Mesila, Jerusalem Mountains

Eretz Israel buckthorn is a thorny shrub. He has small fruit, and there are seeds with laxatives inside themselves. Please do not eat it. Just suck and spit out the seeds. However, a liqueur from the fruit is made very tasty. It is better to gather the buckthorn in Ein Mesila - there are many bushes there. Shake the branch into a bowl with a stick. Apparently, it can be concluded that since the plant's seeds cause diarrhea, they help in constipation. But there is no proof of that. However, figs are beneficial against constipation. Next to buckthorn, the Common Madder grows. The black fruit of Madder is very toxic. Toxins make the black color.

The red crest is a Rhus coriaria or tanner's sumach. The nickname of the tanners is given to the plant because they used it to process skins. A substance that is found in large quantities in tanner's sumach is tannic acid. Tannic acid breaks down the proteins. The protruding stems are the fruits of the plant and are mature when it is purple. The real sumach has an unsalted taste. It is claimed to be anti-aging. You can make spices as follows: Gather the clusters when they are greasy and sticky. Dry them for three weeks and grind them into a light pourer mill that will not crush the seeds. Then pass through the strainer.

Fig has a substance called psoralen. In the vernacular, it is named fig milk. This plant-based milk causes the milk to become cheese. Fig is an allergenic tree. At the early stage of ripening, a fig has a flower that invites a wasp to pollinate. Therefore the wasp larvae sometimes remain in the fruit. The next stage of ripening is fruiting. When the fruit is opened so that birds can come and spread seeds - the fruit is ripe. At this point, figs do not excrete the milk.

This part of the orchard is for growing traditional vine varieties unique to the Land of Israel. One of the most common varieties is Halvani. The name comes from Arabic - Halva - sweety, candy. There is another name for this breed, "baz el bakra" - cow's nipple. This name figures out its elongated shape and much fleshiness. The grape is usually huge and sweet, suitable for creating raisins. Another original variety is the skoti, or Baladi - the true one from the varieties of the Land of Israel. The skoti is a smooth green grape, relatively large and slightly elongated in shape. It adapts itself to all types of Eretz Israel soil and is known for its delicate sweetness. In the southern Hebron Mountains, his name is El Khalili - that is, Hebron. In the Carmizan Monastery south of Jerusalem, white wine is made from it.

On the eve of the War of Independence of Israel, the "Burma Road" was the only connecting route between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. It passed through this important point named Ein Mesila spring, in its Arabic name Deir Duban. The spring served as a transit station on the Burma Road. The empty trucks from Jerusalem were loaded here, with equipment and supplies coming from the Tel Aviv area. The large well, well-remaining today, filled from nearby several springs. Today the JNF has set up a parking lot with a playground equipped with the "table" games of ancient times.