On the Emirate beaches, where it is always humid, you can see the sprouts of the date palm: they rise from the sand with dark green, aimed at the sky, narrow, sharp arrows. Here, a palm tree sprouts easily from a stone thrown to the ground.
It seems strange that the legendary bird Phoenix, which, according to myths, had the ability to burn as death approached and be reborn to life from the ashes, and the date palm bear one Greek name. However, the latter has an additional definition: it is called Phoenix dactilifera (finger-type). Perhaps the common name for two such different objects, mystical and real, is inspired by a shade of fire, which manifests itself in the color of “desert sweets”, or heat, reviving a bird to life and accompanying a palm tree in life, which likes to keep its roots in the water, and “head "- on fire. And, perhaps, the secret of the common name lies in the vitality hidden in the date.
There are other oddities inherent in the date palm. In the wild, she has no direct ancestors. Called by the Prophet Muhammad "God's gift", it is found only as a garden, oasis culture and ornamental plant.
The distant relatives of a “candy” beauty, covered with a spherical hat of an evergreen crown, were found in the Pakistani province of Sind - in Pakistan and India there are still wild groves of sugar date palm trees (Phoenix sylvestris). Some experts consider her to be the beautifully cultivated "mistress of the sands", who has risen to a higher level of development due to man or as a result of a natural mutation.
The gift of mutation cannot be taken away from the date palm. According to experts, it has spread around the world in several hundred species. The Emirate palm grove alone, with more than 40 million trees, includes nearly 120 different varieties of them. A neighbor, a Saudi palm tree, is half as much, but the number of its varieties approaches four hundred.
The secret to distributing palm trees is simple. Dates are a perfectly preserved, very nutritious and healthy product. Since ancient times, they have been an indispensable convoy of conquerors, filled the holds of long-distance ships, carried in knapsacks of nomads and pilgrims.
It is known that the sailors of Spain, to which the Moors brought dates, several centuries ago left their mark in the form of a date palm in Mexico, from where it, with the help of other wanderers, moved to the United States. Therefore, it is completely natural to assume that the conductors of Arab trade caravans, delivering Omani incense and Asian spices to the Mediterranean, and Arab warriors who raided neighboring territories, contributed to the resettlement of the date palm on the Arabian Peninsula and the territories of modern Iran and Iraq, in North Africa and in the region Horn of Africa.
The oldest finds of date fruit seeds within human settlements date back to the 6th millennium BC. Found them in Pakistan. There is confirmed evidence that palm groves were in the territory of the current Omani southern province of Dofar already in the 5th millennium BC, since there are ancient rock paintings of a palm tree. Its bones were found during excavations of settlements 5000 years ago and in the UAE. One of them was discovered on the island of Delma belonging to Abu Dhabi and dates back to 5110th year BC, the second - 4670th. Due to the fact that there were no palm groves in this area at that time, it is assumed that the fruits of dates were brought to the island by visiting merchants.
Findings of date seeds in Bahrain and in the territory of modern Iraq date back to the same time. Due to the fact that the ancient inhabitants of the country of Mesopotamia - the Sumerians - called dates the words “Zulum” and “Hishim-mar”, which were unusual for their language, scientists conclude that they were known to the indigenous population of Messopotamia even before the Sumerians. This suggests that the area of present-day Iraq could be the birthplace of the blessed creation of nature, which has been perfected on its land over the course of millennia. In the early 60s of the last century, there was the largest palm grove in the world. Unfortunately, as a result of wars and American bombing, it was reduced by more than half.
Residents of Mesopotamia christened the palm tree "Adam's tree", linking this name with an ancient tablet found here, on which are images of Adam, Eve and the tempter snake entwining a palm tree. So maybe the apple was not the fruit of temptation? Should we not believe the ancients who were closer to the feast of sinful, but sweet and fateful temptation?
If we consider a palm tree, whose trunk height reaches 30 meters, a tree, then this tree is unusual. Again with oddities. First of all, “without a head” she does not live. Having lost the top for any reason, the palm tree dies. The round trunk has a peculiar structure, different from the wood of trees. She has no branches. Leaves, reaching a length of 4-5 meters, depart directly from the trunk and end with sharp needles that protect them from herbivores. The root system is dense and goes deep into the ground.
The palm tree belongs to dioecious plants, in which male and female flowers are settled on different individuals. She begins to bear fruit in 5-8 years, and reaches maturity by 30 years. The length of her century is close to the human - about 100 years. Rigid leaves, a loose trunk, twisting around its fibers, which the Arabs call "hair" - everything was used and is still used by man.
The main wealth that Madame Palm gives farmers is its fruits. They ripen in hands reaching 10 pounds. The crop of a mature palm can contain up to a dozen brushes and up to a centner of the fruit.
Since ancient times, dates have been considered a symbol of fertility and fertility. In ancient Egypt, they were the food of the pharaohs. Palm leaves were used as bedspreads for mummies. Fruits and seeds served as a medicine. Papyrus contains dozens of recipes for their use in treating the stomach, liver and intestines, runny nose, gum and bladder diseases. They are now used by Arabs for these purposes, as well as as a soothing and anti-inflammatory agent that stimulates the work of the heart muscles, opens the breath to people suffering from respiratory diseases, and stimulates sexual strength.
Some recipes are perplexing. For example, a solution of water in which date bones with a dog bone and a donkey hoof are boiled should help strengthen hair and enhance their growth. But the medicinal prescriptions recommending to apply the date pulp to the place of the bite to neutralize the poison, nothing prevents.
In Asia and many African countries, palm fruits formed the basis of the diet of the local population. The Arabian nomads were accompanied on their journeys by three obligatory and invariable luggage - stocks of coffee, water and dates. In "desert sweets" there are almost all the vitamins, minerals and nutrients necessary to ensure the normal functioning of the human body. Arabs call them "mines of health." They contain a large amount of carbohydrates in the form of glucose, fructose, sucrose. There are fats and oils. Salts and minerals, because of their abundance, are even difficult to fully list. Under the dense, smooth, waxy skin, dates are hidden - copper, iron, magnesium, zinc, manganese, potassium, phosphorus, sodium, aluminum, cadmium, cobalt, sulfur, boron and others. The composition of the fruits of the "Adam tree" contains more than 20 types of various amino acids that are absent in apples, oranges, bananas and other usual garden gifts. They have vitamins A, A1, C, B1, B2, B6. Experts say that ten dates are enough to meet the daily needs of the body in magnesia, copper, sulfur, half the needs for iron, a quarter of the needs for calcium and potash.
Dates are rich in fluoride, which protects teeth from tooth decay. And it is no coincidence that the Arabs say: "Eat dates - you will save your teeth." By the way, the Arabian nomads have not only good teeth. They have almost no cancer. Some researchers attribute this merit to dates, which include selenium and other elements that reduce the risk of cancer cells in the body.
Arabs have long known that dates contribute to the treatment of tumors. For this purpose, they used pastes as part of crushed dates and their seeds, dried myrrh and beeswax, which were applied to the affected parts of the body when repeating the procedure for four days. Fermented date juice was used against swelling and leg diseases in pregnant women.
Dates do not contain cholesterol and are high in calories. A kilogram of fruits contains about 3,000 calories, and in one date there are a little more than 20. Strengthening the visual and auditory nerves, the fruits of "Lady of the Sands" help to preserve vision and hearing. They have stimulants that help relieve depression in pregnant women. "Desert candy" enriches mother's milk with the most important vitamins necessary for the full development of the child.
In the Qur'an, dates are mentioned more than 20 times in various suras (verses of the Qur'an). It is called a product that instilled strength in the Virgin Mary u1087 after the birth of the baby Jesus. According to the holy book of Muslims, the Lord told the woman in childbirth that the flour brought to the date palm, which yielded out of season crops: “And shake the trunk of the palm tree above you. It will drop fresh, ripe fruits towards you. Eat and drink and keep your eyes cool.” (Sura Maryam, verses 25, 26).
In the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad, reported by his contemporaries, it is said not only about the healing properties of the palm fruit. Even supernatural power is attributed to him, in particular, protection from the evil eye and witchcraft. The prophet, allegedly, said that seven dates eaten on an empty stomach in the morning will neutralize the poison that has entered the body and protect witches from intrigues throughout the day. To the fasting Muslims, the herald of Islam recommended completing Ramadan's daytime fast, conversing primarily with dates.
The Emirate palm grove spreads mainly in the capital of the emirate in the oases of Al Ain and Liua, Suweikhan, Khazne, Umm Gafe, the city of Zayed, on the islands of Syr Bani Yas, Abu l-Abyad, Delma. Harvest dates only in the western region of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, where the palm grove has 30 million trunks, reaches 600 thousand tons per year and accounts for 80% of the total date collection in the country. Palm cultivation is a traditional occupation of the inhabitants of Ras al-Khaimah. About a million desert beauties grows in Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Qaiwain. Over the 30-plus years of the existence of the Emirate state, the country's palm grove has grown tenfold and, with about 40 million trunks, now makes up almost a third of the date garden in the world, in which more than 100 million trees bear fruit. Local plantations, most of which are grown using the latest technology from cells of selected trees, are still young. Not all of them bear fruit. And the harvests themselves are still low: from 40 to 90 kilograms, depending on the variety and age of palm trees. But the emirate date grove has a great future.
Many dozens of varieties of dates are grown in the country, including traditional, local and imported from Iraq, the neighboring countries of the Gulf, Iran and Africa. Varieties are named according to the place of their growth or by the names of the most famous farmers who contributed to the spread of a particular species. Some of them have several names.
In September, with the departure of heat and fog, a new crop begins. There are many dates in the autumn period and they are cheap. What are the fruits to ask in the market? One of the best emirate varieties is considered to be boomers. Also known as "dubbas", "lyulu", "khnesi", "farad", "halas" and dozens of others.
Demand for desert candies is always high. Locals know the price. Some buy dates even for their camels, believing that they are not lost, adding a valuable product to the food of their favorite animals.
Victor Lebedev
