October 24, 2000

Kids carrying olives off to be pressed.

The Islamic "Day of Ascension" has arrived, and so we have another day of rest from school. The olive harvest continues, of course, and will likely do so in some way, shape, or form for another couple of weeks.

Olives being pressed into oil.

We went to Qabatiya (a nearby village) with our Palestinian German friend to see the olive presses - one full-automatic, one half-automatic. The only difference between the half-automatic and the old-fashioned is that a machine now turns the grinding stones rather than a donkey. You can definitely taste the difference between the two presses - the oil from the half-automatic is less bitter.

Fresh olive oil from the press.

Both green and black olives go into making the oil, and they guess that you get about 25% of the weight in oil from the weight in olives. The oil that doesn't go for family consumption is largely sold in Palestine. The Palestinians are very picky about their oil, and tend to want it from their trees.

Olives being sorted at the press.

As one man carried in his bag of olives to the press, he asked us to explain to Bill Clinton why they're not leaving their land - these olive trees carry a lot of meaning.

Family photo at the olive press.

We have also discovered that the digital camera has helped us make some new friends quickly - even better than a Polaroid!