 |
| Looking back towards Zababdeh |
With fine views towards Jordan, we walked between almond and olive groves, through a pine forest, reaching the broad sweep of Wadi Bidan, a picturesque fertile valley rich in mountain springs, by mid-afternoon.
Chick peas and lentils had been planted. Permits for irrigation are impossible to obtain but some ingenious rain-water gathering devices had been built and the fields ploughed in a way to absorb the coming rain, when they would be re-ploughed and sown with wheat and onions.
 |
| Waiting for the rain |
 |
| A chicken farm - the inspiration for Chicken Run perhaps? |
At Ain Fara'a we were invited to stay at our guide's home in the refugee camp and as we approached the town greenery came into view!
 |
| Approaching Ain Fara'a |
An American company own a block of land on the edge of the town and grow herbs which are harvested daily for export to Europe. A computerised irrigation system exists and the herbs are packed on site and exported through Ben Gurion airport without border or customs inspection!
 |
| Spring onions growing near Ain Fara'a |
 |
| Shadows lengthening as we approach Ain Fara'a with its fine Mosque |
Family life for Nidal, his wife and eight children follows a strict Islamic tradition but after dinner we were privileged to meet his charming and beautiful eldest daughter, an English Literature undergraduate at An-Najah University in Nablus.
 |
| Fara'a refugee camp |
