5 – The Ancient Sycamore

This ancient sycamore tree has been dated as several hundred years old, making it one of the oldest trees in all of Israel. Its trunk is about 8 meters in circumference! The Netanya Municipality planted a lovely public park around it. Legend has it that underneath this tree is the burial place of the mother of Khalid, a senior commander of the Muslim army that conquered the Land of Israel in the 7th century. The village of Umm Khalid is named after him.
During the period when the Crusaders ruled the land, from the 11th to the 13th century, a fortress was built here by Roger the Lombard to control the road. Illustrations from that period show the castle with this sycamore tree alongside it, which was already as large as it is today.
Another description of the village of Umm Khalid and the sycamore tree can be found in descriptions of Napoleon’s journey through the Land of Israel in 1799. Napoleon’s army advanced through the Sharon region as they headed north toward their famous battle at Acre, after conquering Jaffa and Ramle.
In 1839, Moses Montefiore passed through this area with his wife Judith as they traveled from Jaffa to Haifa. Judith described the tree in her diary.
The tree itself is a ficus sycamore, one of the most common, prominent species of the tree in Israel. The ficus originates in Eastern Africa but has been a long-time member of Israel’s flora for thousands of years. It is even described in the Bible and the Talmud. In the summer, the tree produces a large amount of fruit, and while these fruits are not usually enjoyed by humans, they attract thousands of bats who live between the tree’s branches at night.
The tree can be found in front of 8 Mintz Street.